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STORIES OF GEORGIA 



BY 



JOEL CHANDLER HARRIS 







//, 



fn. 



J^Ot ,/M%«V.l1\''i 



.^^r 



NEW YORK -r-CINCINNATL:- CHICAGO 

AMERICAN BOOK COMPANY 

1896 






Copyright, 1896, by 
AMERICAN b6oK COMPANY. 



STO. OF GA, 
W. P. I 



PREFACE. 



In preparing the pages that follow, the writer has had in 
view the desirability of familiarizing the youth of Georgia with 
the salient facts of the State's history in a way that shall make 
the further study of that history a delight instead of a task. 
The ground has been gone over before by various writers, but 
the narratives that are here retold, and the characterizations 
that are here attempted, have not been brought together here- 
tofore. They lie wide apart in volumes that are little known 
and out of print.* 

The stories and the characterizations have been grouped 
together so as to form a series of connecting links in the rise 
and progress of Georgia ; yet it must not be forgotten that 
these links are themselves connected with facts and events 
in the State's development that are quite as interesting, and 
of as far-reaching importance, as those that have been narrated 
here. Some such suggestion as this, it is hoped, will cross the 
minds of young students, and lead them to investigate for 
thernselves the interesting intervals that lie between. 

It is unfortunately true that there is no history of Georgia in 
which the dry bones of facts have been clothed with the flesh 
and blood of popular narrative. Colonel Charles C. Jones saw 
what was needed, and entered upon the task of writing the 

3 



4 

history of the State with characteristic enthusiasm. He had 
not proceeded far, however, when the iact dawned upon his 
mind that such a work as he contemplated must be for the 
most part a labor of love. He felt the influence of cold 
neglect from every source that might have been expected to 
afford him aid and encouragement. He was almost compelled 
to confine himself to a bare recital of facts, for he had reason 
to know that, at the end of his task, public inappreciation was 
awaiting him. 

And yet it seems to the present writer that every person in- 
terested in the growth and development of the republic should 
turn with eager attention to a narrative embodying the events 
that have marked the progress of Georgia. It was in this 
State that some of the most surprising an(i spectacular scenes 
of the Revolution took place. In one corner of Georgia those 
who were fighting for the independence of the republic made 
their last desperate stand ; and if they had surrendered to the 
odds that faced them, the battle of King's Mountain would 
never have been fought, Greene's southern campaign would 
have been crippled, and the struggle for liberty in the south 
would have ended in smoke. 

It is to illustrate the larger events that these stories have 
been written ; and while some of them may seem far away 
from this point of view, they all have one common purpose 
and tend to one common end. 



CONTENTS. 



A Search for Treasure . 

Oglethorpe and his Gentle Colony 

'• The Empress of Georgia " 

The Liberty Boys 

A Group of Characters . 

Aunt Nancy Hart 

Two Soldiers of the Revolution 

A War of Extermination 

A Negro Patriot 

The Yazoo Fraud 

George Matthews and John ClaiuvE 

After the Revolution 

The Cotton Gin 

Some Georgia Inventions . 

The Early Progress of the State 

The Creeks and the Creek War . 

Two Famous Indian Chiefs 

5 



PAGE 

7 
20 



41 
57 
69 

84 

97 

115 
120 

136 

145 
154 
163 

174 
184 
199 



6 



Removal of the Cherokees 

The Beginning of Parties in Georgia 

A Queer Case .... 

Georgia Wit and Humor . 

Slavery and Secession 

The Farmer Boy of Gaddistown 

Georgia in the War 

A Daring Adventure 

The Reconstruction Period 

" The New South '' . . . 





PAGE 


. . . 


. 2l6 


GIA . 


. 227 




• 234 




. 240 




. 251 




• 259 




. 272 




. 281 


. 


- 297 


. 


^ 307 



STORIES OF GEORGIA, 



J^^Kc 



A SEARCH FOR TREASURE. 







SO far as written records tell us, Hernando de Soto 
and his companions in arms were the first white 
men to enter and explore the territory now known on 
the map as the State of Georgia. Tradition has small 



8 

voice in the matter, but such as it has tells another 
story. There are hints that other white men ventured 
into this territory before De Soto and his men beheld 
it. General Oglethorpe, when he came to Georgia with 
his gentle colony, which had been tamed and sobered 
by misfortune and ill luck, was firmly of the opinion 
that Sir Walter Raleigh, the famous soldier, sailor, and 
scholar, had been there before him. So believing, the 
founder of the Georgian Colony carried with him Sir 
Walter's diary. He was confirmed in his opinion by a 
tradition, among the Indians of the Yamacraw tribe, 
that Raleigh had landed where Savannah now stands. 
There are also traditions in regard to the visits of other 
white men to Georgia. These traditions may be true, 
or they may be the results of dreams, but it is certain 
that De Soto and his picked company of Spaniards 
were the first to march through the territory that is now 
Georgia. The De Soto expedition was made up of the 
flower of Spanish chivalry, — men used to war, and fond 
of adventure. Some of them were soldiers, anxious to 
win fame by feats of arms in a new land ; some were 
missionaries, professing an anxiety for the souls of 
such heathen as they might encounter, but even these 
men were not unfamiliar with the use of the sword ; 
some were physicians, as ready to kill as to heal ; 
some were botanists, who knew as much about the 
rapier and the poniard as they did about the stamens, 
pistils, and petals of the flowers ; and some were re- 
porters, men selected to write the history of the expedi- 
tion. As it turned out, these reporters were entirely 
faithful to their trust. They told all that happened 



9 

with a fidelity that leaves nothing to be desired. The 
record they have left shows that the expedition was 
bent on finding gold and other treasures. 

On the 30th of May, 1539, De Soto's expedition 
landed at Tampa Bay, Fla., and his men pitched 
their tents on the beach. The army was not a large 
one ; but it was made up of chosen men, who were used 
to the dangers of war, and who, as stated before, were 
fond of adventure. There was but one gray head in the 
expedition : therefore, though the army was a small one, 
it was the most enthusiastic and warHke array that had 
ever been seen in the New World. The soldiers wore 
rich armor, and the cavalry rode gayly caparisoned 
horses. The army was accompanied by slaves and 
mules to bear the burdens. It had artillery and other 
weapons of war ; handcuffs, neck collars, and chains 
for prisoners ; crucibles for refining gold ; bloodhounds, 
greyhounds, and a drove of hogs. 

For nearly a year the little army of De Soto wandered 
about in Florida, ransacking the burying grounds of the 
Indians in search of treasures, and committing such 
other depredations as were common to the civilization 
of that age. When inquiries were made for gold, the 
Indians always pointed toward the north ; and, follow- 
ing these hints, the expedition pursued its way through 
Florida, wandering about in the swamps and slashes, but 
always held together by the enthusiasm of the men and 
their hopes of securing rich spoils. 

On the 3d of Marcli, 1540, M2 Soto's army left 
Anhayca, which is said to have been near the site of 
Tallahassee, and marched northward. Before leaving. 



lO 

the Spaniards seized from the Indians a large supply of 
maize (now commonly known as corn), and apjDropriated 
whatever else struck their fancy. They had spent some 
time with the Indians at this town of Anhayca, and had 
sent out parties that committed depredations wherever an 
Indian settlement could be found. They made slaves of 
many Indians, treating them with more severity than they 
treated their beasts of burden. It is no wonder, therefore, 
that the Indians, discovering the greed of the Spaniards 
for gold, should have spread rumors that large quantities 
of the yellow metal were to be found farther north. 

Reports came to the Spaniards of a wonderful Indian 
queen who reigned at a place called Yupaha, a settle- 
ment as large as a city. One day an Indian boy, who 
had been brought to camp with other prisoners, told the 
Spaniards a good deal about this great Indian queen. 
He said that she ruled not only her own people, but all 
the neighboring chiefs, and as far as the Indian settle- 
ments extended. The boy told the Spaniards that all 
the Indians paid tribute to this great queen, and sent 
her fine presents of clothing and gold. De Soto and 
his men cared nothing about fine clothing. They were 
greedy only for gold and precious stones. They asked 
the Indian boy many questions, and he answered them 
all. He told how the gold was taken from the earth, 
and how it was melted and refined. His description 
was so exact that the Spaniards no longer had any doubt. 
Their spirits rose mightily, and, after robbing and 
plundering the Indians who had fed and sheltered them 
during the winter months, they broke up their camp and 
moved northward. 



II 

Four days after leaving Tallahassee, the Spaniards 
came to a deep river, which Colonel C. C. Jones, jim., in 
his " History of Georgia," says was the Ocklockonnee, 
very close to the southwest boundary of Georgia. Two 
days later they came to an Indian village from which 
the inhabitants fled, but a little later a squad of five 
soldiers was set upon by the Indians hiding near the 
encampment. One of the Spaniards was killed, while 
three others were badly wounded. De Soto left this 
Indian village on the nth of March, and presently 
came to a piece of country which the Spanish historian 
describes as a desert. But it was not a desert then, 
and it is not a desert now. It was really a pine barren, 
such as may be seen to this day in what is called the 
wire-grass region of southern Georgia. In these bar- 
rens the soil is sandy and the land level, stretching 
away for miles. De Soto and his men saw the prime- 
val pines ; but these have long since disappeared, and 
their places are taken by pines of a smaller growth. 
On the 2 1 St of March, the Spaniards came to the 
Ocmulgee River, near which they found an Indian 
town called Toalli. 

There will always be a dispute about the route fol- 
lowed by De Soto in his march. This dispute is interest- 
ing, but not important. Some say that the expedition 
moved parallel with the coast until the Savannah River 
was reached, at a point twenty-five miles below Augusta; 
but it is just as probable that the route, after reaching 
the Ocmulgee, was along the banks of that stream and 
in a northwesterly direction. 

At Toalli the Indians had summer and winter houses 



12 

to live in, and they had storehouses for their maize. 
The women wore blankets or shawls made of the fiber 
of silk grass, and the blankets were dyed vermilion 
or black. Thenceforward the Indians whom the Span- 
iards met with were of a higher order of intelligence, 
and of a more industrious turn, than those left behind 
in Florida and along the southern boundary of Georgia. 

As De Soto marched along, he seized Indians and 
made guides of them, or made prisoners and held them 
until he was furnished with guides and interpreters. 
He also announced to the Indians that he was the 
Child of the Sun, who had been sent to seek out the 
greatest Prince and Princess. This made a great im- 
pression on the Indians, many of whom were sun 
worshipers. 

Many times during the march the Spaniards were 
on the point of starvation, and the account of their 
sufferings as set forth in the history of the expedition 
is intended to be quite pathetic. We need not pause 
to shed any tears over these things, for the sufferings 
the Spaniards endured were nothing compared to the 
sufferings they inflicted on the Indians. They mur- 
dered and robbed right and left, and no doubt the 
Indians regarded them as demons rather than Chris- 
tians. More than once when the Spaniards were 
wandering aimlessly about in the wilderness, they were 
found by the Indians and saved from starvation. In 
turn the simple-minded natives were treated with a 
harshness that would be beyond belief if the sickening 
details were not piously set forth by the Spanish his- 
torian of the expedition. 



13 

About the 28th of April the expedition reached the 
neighborhood of Ciitifachiqui, having been told by three 
Indians whom they had taken, that the queen of that 
province knew of the approach of the Spaniards, and 
was awaiting them at her chief town just across the 
river. As De Soto came to the shore of the stream, 









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four canoes started from the opposite side. One of 
them contained a kinswoman of the queen, who had 
been selected to invite the Spaniards to enter the town. 
Shortly afterwards the queen came forth from the 
town, seated on a palanquin or litter, which was borne 
by the principal men. Coming to the water side, the 
queen entered a canoe, over the stern of which was 
stretched an awning to shelter her from the sun. 



14 

Under this awning she rechned on cushions ; and thus, 
in company with her chiefs, and attended by many of 
her people in canoes, she crossed the river to meet 
De Soto. She landed, and gave the Spaniard a gra- 
cious welcome. As an offering of peace and good will, 
she took from her neck a long string of pearls, and 
gave the gems to De Soto. She also gave him many 
shawls and finely dressed deerskins. The Spaniard 
acknowledged the beautiful gifts by taking from his 
hand a gold ring set with a ruby, and placing it upon 
one of the queen's fingers. 

The old historian pretends that De Soto and his men 
were very much impressed by the dignity and courtesy 
of the Indian queen. She was the first woman ruler 
they had met in their wanderings. She was tall, finely 
formed, and had great beauty of countenance. She 
was both gracious and graceful. All this is set down 
in the most pompous way by the Spanish chroniclers ; 
but the truth seems to be that De Soto and his men 
cared nothing for the courtesy and hospitality of the 
queen, and that they were not moved by her beauty 
and kindness. The Spaniards crossed the river in 
canoes furnished by the queen's people, and found 
themselves surrounded by the most hospitable Indians 
they had yet seen. They were supplied with every- 
thing the land afforded, and rested in comfortable wig- 
wams under the shade of mulberry trees. The soldiers 
were so delighted with the situation, that they were 
anxious to form a settlement there; but De Soto re- 
fused to forget the only object of the expedition, which 
was to search for gold and other treasures. His deter- 



15 

mination had the desired effect. His men recovered 
their energies. While enjoying the hospitaUty of the 
queen, they found out the burial places of her people, 
and gathered from the graves, according to the state- 
ment of the Spanish historian, " three hundred and fifty 
weight of pearls, and figures of babies and birds, made 
from iridescent shells." 

The mother of the queen lived not far from the town 
where the Spaniards were quartered, and, as she was 
said to be the owner of many fine pearls, De Soto ex- 
pressed a desire to see her. Upon hearing this, the 
queen sent twelve of her principal men to beg her 
mother to come to see the white strangers and the 
wonderful animals they had brought with them ; but the 
mother of the queen was very shrewd. She rebuked 
the messengers, and sent them back with some sharp 
words for her daughter; and though De Soto did his 
best to capture the woman, he was never able to carry 
out his purpose. 

He then turned his attention to a temple that stood 
on the side of a deserted settlement which had formerly 
been the chief town oi the queen's people. This 
temple, as described by the Spanish chronicler, was 
more than one hundred steps long by forty broad, the 
walls high in proportion, and the roof elevated so as to 
allow the water to run off. On the roof were various 
shells arranged in artistic order, and the shells were 
connected by strings of pearls. These pearls extended 
from the top of the roof to the bottom in long festoons, 
and the sun shining on them produced a very brilliant 
effect. At the door of the temple were twelve giant- 



i6 

like statues made of wood. These figures were so 
ferocious in their appearance, that the Spaniards hesi- 
tated for some time before they could persuade them- 
selves to enter the temple. The statues were armed 
with clubs, maces, copper axes, and pikes ornamented 
with copper at both ends. In the middle of the temple 
were three rows of chests, placed one upon another 
in the form of pyramids. Each pyramid consisted of 
five or six chests, the largest at the bottom, and the 
smallest at the top. These chests, the Spanish chron- 
iclers say, were filled with pearls, the largest containing 
the finest pearls, and the smallest only seed pearls. 

It is just as well to believe a little of this as to believe 
a great deal. It was an easy matter for the survivors 
of the expedition to exaggerate these things, and they 
probably took great liberties with the facts ; but there 
is no doubt that the Indians possessed many pearls. 
Mussels like those from which they took the gems are 
still to be found in the small streams and creeks of 
Georgia, and an enterprising boy might even now be 
able to find a seed pearl if he sought for it patiently. 

It is not to be doubted that rich stores of pearls were 
found. Some were distributed to the officers and men ; 
but the bulk of them, strange to say, were left undis- 
turbed, to await the return of the Spaniards another day. 
De Soto was still intent on searching for gold, and he 
would hear of nothing else. He would neither settle 
among the queen's people for a season, nor return to 
Tampa with the great store of pearls discovered. Being 
a resolute man and of few words, ?ie had his way, and 
made preparations to journey farther north to the prov- 



17 

ince called Chiaha, which was governed by a great 
Indian king. 

The conduct of the Spaniards had been so cruel dur- 
ing their stay at Cutifachiqui, that the queen had come 
to regard them with fear and hatred, and she refused to 
supply them with guides and burden bearers. De Soto 
thereupon placed her under guard ; and when he took 
up his march for Chiaha, the queen who had received 
him with so much grace, dignity, and hospitality, was 
compelled to accompany him on foot, escorted by her 
female attendants. The old Spanish chronicler is 
moved to remark that "it was not so good- usage as 
she deserved for the good will she shewed and the good 
entertainment that she had made him." This was the 
return the Spanish leader made to the queen who had 
received and entertained his army, — to seize her, place 
her under guard, and compel her to accompany his 
expedition on foot. 

One reason why De Soto made the queen his pris- 
oner and carried her with the expedition was to use 
her influence in controlling the Indians along his line 
of march. The result was all that he could have ex- 
pected. In all the towns through which the Spaniards 
passed, the queen commanded the Indians to carry the 
burdens of the army ; and thus they went for a hun- 
dred leagues, the Indians obeying the queen without 
question. After a march of seven days, De Soto ar- 
rived at the province of Chelaque, which was the coun- 
try of the Cherokees. Here the soldiers added to their 
stores of provisions, and renewed their march ; and on 
May 15 they arrived in the province of Xualla, the chief 

STO. OF GA. — 2 



town of which is supposed to have been situated in 
the Nacoochee valley. Inclining his course westwardly 
from the Nacoochee valley, De Soto set out for Gua- 
xule, which marked the limit of the queen's dominion, 
and which has been identified as Old Town, in Murray 
County. On this march the queen made her escape, 
taking with her a cane box filled with large pearls 
of great value. This box had been borne by one of 
the queen's attendants up to the moment when she 
disappeared from the Spanish camp. De Soto made 
every effort to recapture the queen. No doubt the 
bloodhounds, which formed a part of the expedition, 
were called in to aid in the search ; but it was all 
to no purpose. The queen hid herself as easily as 
a young partridge hides, and neither men nor dogs 
could find her. De Soto went on his way, deploring 
the loss of the valuable pearls. 

From Nacoochee to Murray County the march was 
fatiguing. The route lay over mountains as well as 
valleys. One of the foot soldiers, Juan Terron (his 
folly has caused history to preserve his name), grew 
so weary on this march, that he drew from his wallet 
a linen bag containing six pounds of pearls. Calling 
to a cavalryman, Juan Terron offered him the bag 
of pearls if he would carry them. The cavalryman 
refused the offer, and told his comrade to keep them. 
But Juan Terron would not have it so. He untied 
the bag, whirled it around his head, and scattered 
the pearls in all directions. This done, he replaced the 
empty bag in his wallet, and marched on, leaving his 
companions amazed at his folly. Thirty of the pearls 



19 

were recovered by the soldiers. The gems were of 
great size, and perfect in every particular ; and it was 
estimated that the six pounds of pearls would have 
fetched six thousand ducats in Spain (over twelve 
thousand dollars). The folly of the foot soldier gave 
rise to a saying in the army, that is no doubt current 
in Spain to this day, — " There are no pearls for Juan 
Terron," which means that a fool makes no profits. 

Continuing their march, the Spaniards came to the 
town of Chiaha, — a site that is now occupied by the 
flourishing city of Rome. De Soto remained at Chiaha 
a month, sending out exploring expeditions in search 
of the much-coveted gold. They found traces of the 
precious metal, but nothing more. On the ist of July, 
1540, De Soto left Chiaha, going down the valley of 
the Coosa. His expedition was organized by the spirit 
of greed. It spread desolation wherever it went, and it 
ended in disaster and despair. De Soto himself found 
a grave in the waters of the Mississippi, and the sur- 
vivors who made their way back home were broken 
in health and spirits. 

An attempt has been made to throw a halo of ro- 
mance over this march of the Spaniards through the 
wilderness of the New World, but there is nothing 
romantic or inspiring about it. It was simply a search 
for riches, in which hundreds of lives were most cruelly 
sacrificed, and thousands of homes destroyed. 



OGLETHORPE AND HIS GENTLE COLONY. 

GENERAL JAMES EDWARD OGLETHORPE, 
the founder of the Colony of Georgia, was among 
the few really good and great men that history tells us of. 
We need to keep a close eye on the antics of history. 
She places the laurels of fame in the hands of butchers, 
plunderers, and adventurers, and even assassins share 
her favors ; so that, if we are going to enjoy the feast 
that history offers us, we must not inquire too closely 
into the characters of the men whom she makes heroes of. 
We find, when we come to look into the matter, that but 
few of those who figured as the great men of the world 
have been entirely unselfish ; and unselfishness is the test 
of a man who is really good and great. Judged by this 
test. General Oglethorpe stands among the greatest men 
known to history. 

He had served in the army with distinction, as his 
father had before him. He was on the staff of the 
great soldier Eugene of Savoy, and under that com- 
mander made himself conspicuous by his fidelity and 
fearlessness. A story is told of him that is interesting, 
if not characteristic. While serving under Eugene, he 
one day found himself sitting at table with a prince of 
Wiirtemberg. He was a beardless youngster, and the 
prince thought to have some sport with him. Taking 

20 



21 



up a glass of wine, the prince gave it a fillip, so that a 
little flew in Oglethorpe's face. The young English- 
man, looking straight at the prince, and smiling, said, 
" My prince, that is only a part of the joke as the Eng- 
lish know it : I will show you the whole of it." With 
that he threw a glassful of wine in the prince's face. 
An old general who sat by laughed dryly, and re- 
marked, " He did well, my 
prince: you began it." 

Born in 1689, Ogle- 
thorpe entered the Eng- 
lish army when 
twenty-one years of 
age. In 1714 he be- 
came captain lieu- 
tenant of the first 
troop of the queen's lite 
guards. He shortly afterwards 
joined Eugene on the conti- 
nent, and remained with that 
soldier until the peace of 1718. 
On the death of his brother, 
he succeeded to the family estate in England. In 1722 
he was elected to Parliament from Haslemere, county 
of Surrey, and this borough he represented continuously 
for thirty-two years. His parliamentary career was 
marked by wise prudence and consistency ; and his 
sympathies were warmly enlisted for the relief of un- 
fortunate soldiers, and in securing reform in the conduct 
of prisons. In this way Oglethorpe became a philan- 
thropist, and, without intending it, attracted the attention 




22 

of all England. Pope, the poet, eulogizes his " strong 
benevolence of soul." 

In that day and time, men were imprisoned for debt 
in England. The law was brutal, and those who exe- 
cuted it were cruel. There was no discrimination be- 
tween fraud and misfortune. The man who was unable 
to pay his debts was judged to be as criminal as the 
man who, though able, refused to pay. Both were 
thrown into the same prison, and subjected to the same 
hardships. In ** Little Dorrit," Charles Dickens has 
told something of those unfortunates who were thrown 
into prison for debt. 

There was apparently nothing too atrocious to be 
sanctioned by the commercial ambition of the English. 
It armed creditors with the power to impose the most 
cruel -burdens upon their debtors, and it sanctioned the 
slave trade. Many crimes have been committed to 
promote the commercial supremacy of Great Britain, 
and on that blind policy was based the law which suf- 
fered innocent debtors to be deprived of their liberty 
and thrown into prison. 

This condition of affairs Oglethorpe set himself to 
reform ; and while thus engaged, he became impressed 
with the idea that many of the unfortunates, guilty of 
no crime, and of respectable connections, might benefit 
themselves, relieve England of the shame of their im- 
prisonment, and confirm and extend the dominion of the 
mother country in the New World, by being freed from 
the claims of those to whom they owed money, on con- 
dition that they would consent to become colonists in 
America. To this class were to be added recruits from 



23 

those who, through lack of work and of means, were Hkely 
to be imprisoned on account of their misfortunes. Ogle- 
thorpe was also of the opinion that men of means, enter- 
prise, and ambition could be enlisted in the cause; and 
in this he was not mistaken. 

He had no hope whatever of personal gain or private 
benefit. The plan that he had conceived was entirely 
for the benefit of the unfortunate, based on broad and 
high ideas of benevolence ; and so thoroughly was this 
understood, that Oglethorpe had no difificulty whatever 
in securing the aid of men of wealth and influence. A 
charter or grant from the government was applied for, 
in order that the scheme might have the sanction and 
authority of the government. Accordingly a charter 
was granted, and the men most prominent in the 
scheme of benevolence were incorporated under the 
name of " The Trustees for establishing the Colony of 
Georgia in America." Georgia in America, was, under 
the terms of the charter, a pretty large slice of Amer- 
ica. It embraced all that part of the continent lying 
between the Savannah and Altamaha rivers, and ex- 
tending westerly from the heads of these rivers in 
direct lines to the South Seas ; so that the original 
territory of Georgia extended from ocean to ocean. 

In aid of this enterprise, Oglethorpe not only con- 
tributed largely from his private means, and solicited 
contributions from his wealthy friends, but wrote a 
tract in which he used arguments that were practical 
as well as ingenious. 

On the 17th of November, 1732, all arrangements 
having been completed, the "Anne" set sail for the 



24 

Colony of Georgia, accompanied by Oglethorpe, who 
furnished his own cabin, and laid in provisions not only 
for himself, but for his fellow-passengers. On the 13th 
of January, 1733, the "Anne" anchored in Charleston 
harbor. From Charleston the vessel sailed to Port 
Royal ; and the colonists were soon quartered in the 
barracks of Beaufort-town, which had been prepared 
for their reception. Oglethorpe left the colonists at 
Beaufort, and, in company with Colonel William Bull, 
proceeded to the Savannah River. He went up this 
stream as far as Yamacraw Bluff, which he selected 
as the site of the settlement he was about to make. 
He marked out the town, and named it Savannah. 
The site was a beautiful one in Oglethorpe's day, and 
it is still more beautiful now. The little settlement that 
the founder of the Colony marked out has grown into a 
flourishing city, and art has added its advantages to 
those of nature to make Savannah one of the most 
beautiful cities in the United States. 

Close by the site which Oglethorpe chose for his 
colony was an Indian village occupied by the Yama- 
craws, — a small tribe, of which Tomochichi was chief. 
At this point, too, was a trading post, which had been 
estabUshed by a white man named John Musgrove. 
This man had married a half-breed woman whose In- 
dian name was Coosaponakesee, but who w^as known as 
Mary Musgrove. In order to insure the friendly recep- 
tion of his little colony and its future safety, Oglethorpe 
went to the village and had a talk with Tomochichi. 
Mary Musgrove not only acted as interpreter, but used 
her influence, which was very great, in favor of her 



25 






husband's countrymen. This was fortunate, for the 
Indians were very uneasy when they learned that a 
colony of whites was to be established near their vil- 
lage, and some of them even threatened to use force 
to prevent it ; but Oglethorpe's friendly attitude, and 
Mary Musgrove's influence, at last persuaded them to 
give their consent. They made an 
agreement to cede the necessaiy 
land, and promised to receive 
the colonists in a friendly 
manner. Oglethorpe re- 
turned to Beaufort when 
he had concluded this 
treaty, and the Sunday 
following his return 
was celebrated as 
a day of thanks- . 
giving. After re- 
ligious services 
there was a bar- 
becue, which, his- 
tory tells us, consisted of 
four fat hogs, turkeys, fowls, 
English beef, a hogshead of punch, a 
hogshead of beer, and a quantity of wine. 

On the 30th of January, 1733, the immigrants set 
sail from Beaufort, and on the afternoon of the next 
day they arrived at Yamacraw Bluff. On the site 
of {he town that had already been marked off, they 
pitched four tents large enough to accommodate all the 
people. Oglethorpe, after posting his sentinels, slept 




26 

on the ground under the shelter of the tall pines, near 
the central watch fire. As a soldier should, he slept 
soundly. He had planted the new Colony, and thus 
far all had gone well with him and with those whose 
interests he had charge of. 

To bring these colonists across the ocean, and place 
them in a position where they might begin life anew, 
was not a very difficult undertaking ; but to plant a 
colony amongst savages already suspicious of the 
whites, and to succeed in obtaining their respect, friend- 
ship, and aid, was something that required wisdom, 
courage, prudence, 'and large experience. This Ogle- 
thorpe did ; and it is to his credit, that, during the 
time he had charge of the Colony, he never in any 
shape or form took advantage of the ignorance of the 
Indians. His method of dealing with them was very 
simple. He conciliated them by showing them that 
the whites could be just, fair, and honorable in their 
dealings ; and thus, in the very beginning, he won the 
friendship of those whose enmity to the little Colony 
would have proved ruinous. 

Providence favored Oglethorpe in this matter. He 
had to deal with an Indian chief full of years, wisdom, 
and experience. This was Tomochichi, who was at the 
head of the Yamacraws. From this kindly Indian 
the Georgia Colony received untold benefits. He re- 
mained the steadfast friend of the settlers, and used 
his influence in their behalf in every possible way, and 
on all occasions. Although he was a very old man, 
he was strong and active, and of commanding presence. 
He possessed remarkable intelligence ; and this, added 



27 

to his experience, made him one of the most remark- 
able of the Indians whose names have been preserved 
in history. There was something of a mystery about 
him that adds to the interest which his active friendship 
for the whites has given to his name. He belonged 
to the tribe of Lower Creeks ; but for some reason or 
other, he, with a number of his tribemen, had been 
banished. The cause of his exile has never been 
made known ; but at this late day it may be guessed 
that he became disgusted with the factional disputes 
among the Creeks, and sought in another part of the 
territory the peace and repose to which his years of 
service had entitled him ; and that when he had taken 
this step, the factions which he had opposed succeeded 
in having him banished. Some such theory as this is 
necessary to account for the tributes that were paid 
to his character and influence by the Creek chiefs who 
assembled at Savannah to make a treaty with Ogle- 
thorpe. Tomochichi was ninety-one years old when 
the Georgia Colony was founded, and he had gathered 
about him a number of disaffected Creeks and Yemas- 
sees, known as the tribe of the Yamacraws. When 
the Creeks came to Savannah to meet Oglethorpe, the 
gfeatest of their chiefs said that he was related to 
Tomochichi, who was a good man, and had been a 
great warrior. 

Thus, with Oglethorpe to direct it, and with Tomo- 
chichi as its friend, the little Georgia Colony was 
founded, and, as we shall see, thrived and flourished. 



-THE EMPRESS OF GEORGIA." 

WHEN Oglethorpe landed at Yamacraw Bluff, 
he was greatly aided in his efforts to conciliate 
the Indians by the wife of John Musgrove, a half- 
breed woman whose Indian name was Coosapo.nakesee. 
She was known by the colonists as Mary Musgrove, 
and her friendship for the whites was timely and fortu- 
nate. She was Oglethorpe's interpreter in his first 
interview with Tomochichi. She was very friendly 
and accommodating, giving aid to Oglethorpe and his 
colony in every possible way. Finding that she had 
great influence, and could be made very useful to the 
colonists, Oglethorpe employed her as interpreter, and 
paid her yearly one hundred pounds sterling, which in 
that day was equal to a great deal more than five hun- 
dred dollars; but Mary Musgrove earned all that was 
paid her, and more. She used all her influence in be- 
half of the whites. She aided in concluding treaties, 
and also in securing warriors from the Creek nation in 
the war that occurred between the colonists and the 
Spaniards who occupied Florida. 

General Oglethorpe had a sincere friendship for 
Mary Mlisgrove, and his influence over her was such 
that she never refused a request he made. If Ogle- 
thorpe had remained in Georgia, it is probable that the 

28 



29 

curious episode in which Mary took a leading part 
would never have occurred. 

Oglethorpe left Georgia on the 23d of July, 1743, 
and never returned. John Musgrove died shortly after- 
wards, and Mary married a man named Matthews, who 
also died. She then married a man named Thomas 
Bosomworth, who had been chaplain to Oglethorpe's 
regiment. In 1743, before Oglethorpe's departure, 
Bosomworth had been commissioned to perform all reli- 
gious and ecclesiastical affairs in Georgia. Previous to 
that he had accepted a grant of lands, and had taken 
up his abode in the Colony. He appears to have been 
a pompous and an ambitious person, with just enough 
learning to make him dangerous. 

Before Mary Musgrove married Bosomworth she had 
never ceased to labor for the good of the Colony. No 
sacrifice was too great for her to make in behalf of her 
white friends. It is true, she had not been fully paid 
for her services ; but she had faith in the good inten- 
tions of the government, and was content. In 1744, a 
year after Oglethorpe's departure from the Colony, 
Mary married Bosomworth, and after that her conduct 
was such as to keep the whites in constant fear of 
massacre and extermination. 

In 1745, Thomas Bosomworth went to England and 
informed the trustees of the Georgia Company that he 
intended to give up his residence in the Georgia Colony. 
The next year he returned to Georgia, and violated the 
regulations of the trustees by introducing six negro 
slaves on the plantation of his wife near the Altamaha 
River. This action was at once resented ; and Presi- 



30 

dent Stephens, who had succeeded Oglethorpe in the 
management of the Colony's affairs, was ordered to 
have the negro slaves removed from the territory of 
Georgia. This was done,- and from that time forth 
Bosomworth and his wife began to plot against the 
peace and good order of the Georgia Colony. He used 
the influence of his wife to conciliate the Indians, and 
secure their sympathy and support. While this was 
going on, he was busy in preparing a claim against the 
government of the Colony for the services rendered and 
losses sustained by his wife, which he valued at five 
hundred pounds sterling. In her name he also claimed 
possession of the islands of Ossabaw, St. Catharine, 
and Sapelo, and of a tract of land near Savannah 
which in former treaties had been reserved to the 
Indians. 

Bosomworth was shrewd enough not to act alone. 
In some mysterious way, not clearly told in history, he 
secured the sympathy and support of Major William 
Horton, commander of Oglethorpe's regiment stationed 
at Frederica, and other officers. Colonel Heron, who 
succeeded Major Horton as commander of the regi- 
ment in 1747, was likewise gained over to the cause of 
the Bosomworths. By the connivance of this officer, a 
body of Indians, with Malatche at their head, marched 
to Frederica for a conference. At this conference 
Malatche made a speech in which he told of the ser- 
vices which his sister Mary had rendered the colonists, 
and requested that a messenger be sent to England to 
tell the King that he, Malatche, was emperor of all 
the Creeks. He declared, also, that Mary, his sister, 



31 

was confided in by the whole Creek nation, and that the 
nation had decided to abide by her will and desire. 

Bosomworth saw the necessity of pushing the matter 
forward, and so he suggested to Malatche the impor- 
tance of having himself crowned as emperor by those 
who were with him. ' Accordingly a paper was drawn 
up giving to Malatche full authority as emperor. 
This done, Bosomworth was quick to procure from 
the Creek emperor a deed of conveyance to Thomas 
and Mary Bosomworth of the islands of Ossabaw, 
Sapelo, and St. Catharine. 

Matters went on peaceably for a while; but Bosom- 
worth was active and energetic, and his wife appears 
to have been entirely under his control. He bought 
on credit a great number of cattle from planters in 
South Carolina, and these he placed on the islands 
that had been given him by Malatche. When his 
debts fell due, he was unable to pay them. .Rather 
than surrender the property for which he was unable 
to pay, he suggested to his wife that she take the title 
of an independent empress. It is doubtful if she knew 
what an empress was ; but she had an idea, that, if she 
claimed to be one, she would be able to buy some red 
calico at the nearest store, as well as an extra bottle of 
rum. So she fell eagerly into the Rev. Mr. Bosom- 
worth's plans. She sent word to the Creeks that she 
had suddenly become a genuine empress, and called a 
meeting of the big men of the nation. The big men 
assembled ; and Mary made a speech, in which she 
insisted that she was the Empress of Georgia. She 
must have been a pretty good talker ; for the Indians 



32 

became very much excited, and pledged themselves to 
stand by her to the last drop of their blood. 

Having thus obtained the support of the Indians, 
Mary set out for Savannah, accompanied by a large 
body of them.. She sent before her a messenger to 



•trw;^! 




inform the president of the Province that she had be- 
come empress over the whole territory belonging to the 
Upper and Lower Creeks ; that she was on her way to 
demand the instant surrender of all the lands that had 



33 

belonged to both nations ; and that, if there should be 
any serious opposition to her demands, the settlement 
would be attacked and destroyed. 

It was a dark hour for the colonists, who were vastly 
outnumbered by the Indians. The president and coun- 
cil were distiirbed by the bold threats made by Mary 
Bosomworth. Their first plan was to meet the Indians 
peaceably, and, by gentle measures, find an opportu- 
nity to seize Mary Bosomworth and ship her to Eng- 
land. In the town of Savannah there were only one 
hundred and seventy men able to bear arms. The 
president of the Province sent a messenger to Mary, 
while she and her followers were still several miles 
distant, warning her to give up her wild scheme. 
Mary sent back a message expressing her contempt 
for the Colony and its officials. Thereupon the presi- 
dent of the Province determined to put the best possible 
face on the matter, and receive Mary and her savage 
followers boldly. Accordingly the militia was ordered 
under arms; and as the Indians entered the town, they 
were stopped by Colonel Noble Jones, who, at the head 
of a company of horse, demanded to know whether 
they came with friendly or hostile intentions. He re- 
ceived no satisfactory answer to his demand, where- 
upon he informed the Indians that they must ground 
their arms, as he had orders not to permit an armed 
man among them to set foot within the town. The 
Indians submitted to the unexpected demand, but with 
great reluctance. 

Having grounded their arms, the Indians were al- 
lowed to enter the town. They marched in regular 

STO. OF UA. — 3 



34 

order, headed by Thomas Bosomworth, who, decked 
out in full canonical robes, with Mary by his side, was 
followed by the various chiefs according to their rank. 
The army of Indians made a formidable appearance 
as they marched into the town, and the inhabitants 
were terror-stricken at the sight They marched to 
the parade ground, where they found the militia drawn 
up to receive them. Here they were saluted with 
fifteen guns, and then conducted to the president's 
house. When the Indians were assembled there, 
Thomas and Mary Bosomworth were ordered to with- 
draw. Then the president and council asked the 
Indian chiefs in a friendly manner why they visited 
the town in so large a body, not having been sent for 
by any person in lawful authority. The Indians re- 
plied that Mary, their empress, was to speak for them, 
and that they would abide by what she said. They 
had heard that she was to be made a prisoner and sent 
across the great waters, and they wanted to know why 
they were to lose their queen. They said they intended 
no harm to the whites, and begged that their arms 
might be restored to them. Then, after talking with 
Bosomworth and his wife, they would return and settle 
all public affairs. Their arms were restored to them, 
but orders were given that on no account should any 
ammunition be issued until the true purpose of their 
visit was made known. 

The Indians then had a conference with Mary Bosom- 
worth, and on the following day began to conduct 
themselves riotously, running up and down the streets 
like madmen. As all the men were obliged to perform 



35 

guard duty, the women were compelled to remain alone 
in their houses. They were in a constant state of terror 
and alarm, expecting every moment to be set upon and 
killed by the unruly savages. While the confusion was 
at its worst, a rumor was circulated that the Indians 
had cut off the head of the president of the council. 
The report was false ; but the colonists were in such 
a state of excitement, that they could scarcely be re- 
strained from firing on the Indians. The situation was 
very critical. Great prudence was necessary in order 
to prevent bloodshed, and save the town from destruc- 
tion. 

At this crisis orders were given to the militia to lay 
hold of Thomas Bosomworth, and place him in close 
confinement. When this order was carried out, Mary 
became frantic, and made threats of vengeance against 
the whole Colony. She cursed General Oglethorpe, 
declared that his treaties were fraudulent, and ordered 
the colonists to depart from her territory. She raved 
furiously, and claimed control over the entire earth. 
But while engaged in cutting up these extraordinary 
capers, she kept an eye on the leading men among the 
Indians, who!vj she knew could be easily bribed. 

The president of the Province, finding that nothing 
could be done with the Indians while they remained 
under the influence of their so-called empress, caused 
Mary to be privately arrested, and placed her under 
guard with her husband. When this was done, quiet 
was at once restored. The Indians ceased to be bois- 
terous. When the lime seemed to be ripe, the presi- 
dent of the Province employed men acquainted with 



36 

the Creek language to entertain the chiefs and their 
warriors in the friendliest way. A feast was prepared ; 
and in the midst of it the chiefs were told that Bosom- 
worth had become involved in debt, and was anxious to 
secure not only all the lands of the Creeks, but also a 
large share of the bounty paid to them by the King of 
England, so that he might be able to pay his creditors 
in Carolina. He was also told that the King's presents 
were intended only for the Indians ; that the lands near 
the town were reserved for them for their encamp- 
ments ; that the sea islands were reserved for them to 
hunt upon when they should come to bathe in the salt 
waters ; and that neither Mary nor her husband had 
any right to these lands, which were the common prop- 
erty of the Creek nations. 

For the moment this policy was successful. Even 
Malatche, Mary's brother, seemed to be satisfied ; and 
many of the chiefs declared that they were convinced 
that Bosomworth had deceived them, and that they 
would trust him no more. But Malatche, at his own 
request, had another talk with Thomas and Mary 
Bosomworth, and was again won over to support their 
wild pretensions ; so that, when the Indians were 
gathered together to receive their shares of the royal 
bounty, Malatche stood up in the midst of them, and 
delivered a most violent speech in favor of the claims of 
Mary as the Empress of Georgia. He declared that 
she had three thousand warriors at her command, and 
that every man of them would take up arms in her 
defense. At the conclusion of his speech, Malatche 
drew forth a paper and presented it to the president 



37 

of the council. This paper was merely the sum and 
substance of Malatche's speech ; and it was so clearly 
the production of Bosomworth, that the effect was far 
different from what the Indians had expected. The 
astonishment of the president and council was so 
apparent, that Malatche begged to have the paper 
again, so that he might deliver it to the person from 
whom he had received it. 

It was important that another conference should be 
had with the Indians. Accordingly they were called 
together again ; and the president of the Province 
made an address, recalling to their minds the fact 
that when General Oglethorpe and his colony landed 
in Georgia, they found Mary, then the wife of John 
Musgrove, living in a hut at Yamacraw ; that at 
that time she was comparatively poor and friendless, 
being neglected and despised by the Creeks, and go- 
ing about in rags ; that General Oglethorpe, finding 
that she could speak both the English and the Creek 
tongues, employed her as an interpreter, gave her rich 
clothes, and made her a woman of some consequence; 
that she was respected by the colonists until she mar- 
ried Thomas Bosomworth, but from that time forth 
they no longer had any confidence in her ; that she 
had no lands of her own ; and that General Ogle- 
thorpe had no treaty with her, but dealt with the old 
and wise leaders of the Creeks, who voluntarily surren- 
dered their waste lands to the whites. The president 
then went on to show that Mary's claims had been 
invented by Thomas l^osomworth as an easy means 
of paying a debt of four huiulred pounds which he 



3S 

owed in South Carolina for cattle, and that his quar- 
rel with the colonists was due to the fact that they 
had refused to give him a third part of the royal 
bounty which belonged by right to the Indians. 

At this point the Creek chiefs begged the president 
to stop. They had heard enough to convince them, 
they said, and now they wanted to smoke the pipe 
of peace. Apparently this was a happy ending to a 
very serious dispute. But at the very moment when 
everything was serene, Mary Bosomworth made her 
appearance amongst those who were patching up their 
differences. She had escaped from her guards, and, 
having secured a supply of rum, now made her ap- 
pearance drunk and furious. She filled the air with 
threats. The president told her, that, unless she ceased 
her efforts to poison the minds of the Indians, he would 
again order her into close confinement. Thereupon 
Mary turned to Malatche and told him what the 
president had said. In a rage, Malatche seized his 
arms, and, calling to the rest of the Indians to do 
the same, dared the whites to touch the empress. The 
uproar was great. Every Indian had his tomahawk in 
his hand, and the council expected nothing less than 
instant death. 

At this moment. Captain Noble Jones, who com- 
manded the guard, ordered the Indians to deliver up 
their arms. The savages were overawed by the cool- 
ness and courage of this intrepid officer. They yielded 
up their arms, and Mary was shut in a private room, 
and a guard set over her. There she was securely 
kept, and while the Indians remained she had no fur- 



39 

ther communication with them. Her husband was then 
sent for, and the president and council tried to reason 
with him ; but he remained obstinate, declaring that he 
would stand up for his wife's rights to the last. Find- 
ing Bosomworth unreasonable, the council caused him 
to be seized and confined. This done, the authorities 
then set about persuading the Indians to leave the 
town peaceably and return to their own settlements. 
This the savages did after a while, leaving Savannah 
in small parties until all were gone. 

Finding himself no longer supported by the Indians, 
Thomas Bosomworth at last repented of his folly. He 
wrote to the president and council, apologizing for his 
wanton conduct. He acknowledged the title of his 
wife to be groundless, and relinquished all claim to 
the lands of the Province. Though his offense had 
been serious, the colonists pardoned him, and thus 
ended the career of Coosaponakesee as Empress of 
Georgia. 

And yet, after all, the Rev. Thomas Bosomworth had 
his way. Mary seems to have lived long ; and her 
husband pressed her claims in London, so that, when 
Henry Ellis was made governor of the Province, he 
was authorized, in 1759, to sell the islands of Ossabaw 
and Sapelo, as well as other Indian lands near Savan- 
nah, and out of the moneys received to settle the de- 
mands of the Bosomworths, and to give them a title 
to the Island of St. Catharine, which they had settled 
and improved. Mary Bosomworth was given four hun- 
dred and fifty pounds for goods she had expended in 
the King's service, and it was provided also that she 



40 

should be allowed sixteen hundred and fifty pounds 
for her services as agent. In addition, she was given 
two thousand pounds, the sum for which Ossabaw and 
Sapelo sold at auction. A grant of St. Catharine 
Island was also made to Mary Bosom worth ; so that 
it may be considered that she was richly rewarded for 
the many good turns she did the colonists in her bet- 
ter days, before her mind had been poisoned by the 
Rev. Mr. Bosomworth. 



THE LIBERTY BOYS 




N 1765, what is 
known as the 
Stamp Act was passed 
by the Parliament of 
Great Britain, in spite 
of all the protests made by the agents of the Colonies. 
The people of the Colonies felt that taxation without 
representation was an exercise of power not to be 
tolerated. 

The Stamp Act itself was a very small matter; but 
many of the American Colonies had been setting up 
claims of independence in various matters. As Benja- 
min Franklin said, the British nation was provoked by 
these claims of independence, and all parties proposed 
by this piece of legislation to settle the question once for 

41 



42 

all. While the agents of the Colonies, and among them 
Franklin, protested against the Stamp Act, none of 
them supposed that it would be met by armed resist- 
ance ; and yet the terms of the act were insolent and 
sweeping. It was provided that if the stamps were not 
used, *' marriages would be null and void, notes of hand 
valueless, ships at sea prizes to the first captors, suits at 
law impossible, transfers of real estate invalid, inherit- 
ances irreclaimable." In spite of these sweeping terms, 
Benjamin Franklin did not doubt that the act would 
be carried into effect, and other patriotic Americans 
thought that the colonists should submit. Even James 
Otis of Boston, who was afterwards among the first to 
advocate the calling of an American congress to delib- 
erate upon the propriety of the acts of Great Britain, 
was of this opinion. 

The Georgia authorities regarded the stamp duty as 
just as any that could be generally imposed on the 
Colonies, though the manner of imposing it greatly 
inspired alarm. But while the other Colonies were 
hesitating, a voice was heard in Virginia. Patrick 
Henry, speaking for the Virginians, made an eloquent 
protest against the law, and his boldness kindled into 
flames the spirit of opposition that had been smolder- 
ing in all the Colonies. The Sons of Liberty were 
organized North and South. In Georgia they were 
known as "Liberty Boys." "Liberty, property, and no 
stamps ! " was the cry, and it was a cry that stirred the 
country from one end to the other. 

The congress suggested by James Otis of Boston 
assembled on Monday, the 7th of October, 1765. 



43 

Georgia had no delegates in the congress, but was 
represented by a messenger who was sent to obtain a 
copy of the proceedings. Such representation was not 
because the Colony of Georgia failed to sympathize 
with the purpose for which the congress was called, 
but was entirely due to the influence and popularity 
of Governor Wright, the royal governor, who was not 
only a good man personally, but wise, prudent, and far- 
seeing. Owing to his exertions, Georgia was not repre- 
sented in the person of delegates. The speaker of the 
Georgia House of Assembly had indeed called a conven- 
tion of the members for the purpose of selecting dele- 
gates to the Colonial Congress called to meet in New 
York, and sixteen members had responded to the call ; 
but such was the influence of Governor Wright, that 
these members of the assembly were prevailed upon 
not to send delegates to the congress. But they could 
not be prevented from preparing and sending a re- 
sponse to the Massachusetts invitation. They had 
resolved, they said, to support heartily every measure 
that might be suggested for the support of the common 
rights of the Colonies. 

We learn from the letters of Governor Wright, writ- 
ten to the Earl of Halifax, that it was as much as he 
could do (and he was a very active as well as a very 
wise governor) to prevail on the people to maintain 
at least the outward show of loyalty to the King. And 
he was not successful even in this, for he informs 
another correspondent (Mr. Secretary Conway) on the 
31st of January, 1766, that the same spirit of ''sedi- 
tion, or rather rebellion, which first appeared at Bos- 



44 

ton," had reached Georgia, and that he had been con- 
stantly engaged for the space of three months in trying 
to convince the people that they ought to submit to the 
King's authority until they could point out their griev- 
ances and apply for redress in a constitutional way. 
Governor Wright also states to the same correspondent 
that he has had much trouble in preserving from de- 
struction at the hands of the people the stamp papers 
that had been forwarded for the collection of the tax. 
He received "incendiary" letters; he had to issue proc- 
lamations against riots and *' tumultuous and unlawful 
assemblies ; " and he had also to take measures against 
the Liberty Boys, who began to have private meetings, 
and who had formed themselves into a society to oppose 
and prevent the distribution of the stamp papers. 

In short, the good governor was kept in a constant 
state of alarm lest the Liberty Boys should seize some 
advantage and cause his Majesty the King of England 
to have a moment of grief. The Liberty Boys were so 
active, and made so many threatening demonstrations, 
that Governor Wright was driven to what he describes 
as extreme measures. He was compelled to send the 
obnoxious stamp papers to a place of safety to prevent 
the people from destroying them ; and when he had the 
papers securely hidden, he was compelled to place men 
on duty day and night to protect the precious stamps. 
He was obliged to send a posse of men to protect the 
stamp distributer by hiding him, and was then moved to 
send him into the country for a season, in order to avoid 
the resentment of the people ; and then, after all his 
trouble, the good governor found that the people had 



45 

determined not to apply for any papers, stamped or un- 
stamped, until the King had acted on the petitions sent 
from the Colonies. No wonder that he was moved to 
call it "a wretched situation." It was indeed a wretched 
situation for one who had no higher ideas of duty than 
to continue to serve the King and oppose the interests 
of the people. 

There was something more of an uproar in South 
Carolina than in Georgia ; but the truth of history ap- 
pears to be that the resistance offered to the Stamp Act 
in Georgia was much more serious than that displayed 
in Carolina. Although Governor Wright used all his 
influence to support the act, the people exercised so 
much vigilance in watching the stamp papers and the 
officer sent to issue them, that none of the papers found 
their way into use. 

The Colonies were bordering on a state of revolution, 
when, through the influence of the Earl of Chatham, 
the Stamp Act was repealed. There was great rejoi- 
cing among the people, and a general manifestation of 
a renewal of loyalty to the mother country. But the 
seeds of dissension had been sown. The Stamp Act, 
unnecessary and uncalled for, had given the people 
cause to ponder over their real relations to the Crown ; 
and out of the discussion that had taken place arose a 
spirit of independence that grew and thrived and spread 
day by day. 

In short, the repeal of the Stamp Act gave the peo- 
ple of the Colonies only momentary satisfaction. Their 
success in securing its repeal gave them a new taste for 
liberty of action, and a new sense of their importance 



46 

as individuals. But King George III. was never satis- 
fied with the repeal of the Stamp Act of 1765. He 
declared that it had wounded the Majesty of England, 
It fretted him, and the irritation that he felt extended 
like a contagion to his cabinet. When the Earl of 
Chatham died, there was no statesman to take his place. 
The mantle of his office fell on Charles Townshend, 
who was more anxious to please the King than to secure 
good government to the people of the Colonies. He 
was anxious for the British Government to assert with 
vigor its right to govern the Colonies as it saw fit. 

Meanwhile the spirit of independence in the Colonies 
continued to assert itself more openly day by day, and 
the determination grew among them not to submit to 
taxation without representation in Parliament. • The 
organization of Sons of Liberty and Liberty Boys grew 
and spread both North and South. One of the most 
fruitful causes of discontent was the fact that Georgia 
and the other Colonies were compelled to depend upon 
the will of the British Government in all matters. 
Every act passed by a colonial assembly must receive 
the sanction of the British Parliament before it became 
a law. Petitions were disregarded. Frequently there 
was a delay of two years between the passage of an act 
by the Colonial General Assembly and its ratification. 
But every measure had to receive the approval of the 
Crown. While the affairs of the country were in this 
peculiar condition, the people became more and more 
dissatisfied. 

It is now known that Governor James Wright, loyal 
to the King as he proved himself to be, was fully 



47 

sensible of the injustice to which the Colonies were 
compelled to submit. On the 15th of August, 1769, 
he addressed a letter to the Earl of Hillsborough, which 
was not read until fifteen months after it was written. 
In this letter the governor warned the British cabinet 
that the Colonies would never submit to taxation with- 
out representation. There was no disaffection, he said, 
toward the King or the royal family, but simply a 
determination on the part of the people to stand on 
their rights. But the governor's letter lay unread for 
fifteen months, and there was no reply to the numerous 
petitions sent from the Colonies. At last the Ameri- 
cans determined to appeal to the pockets instead of to 
the sentiments of the people of Great Britain. They 
determined to import no goods whatever that could be 
manufactured or produced at home. 

This determination, instead of causing the British 
people to conciliate the Americans by securing the 
repeal of unfriendly laws, turned the popular opinion 
against the Colonies ; and this feeling was intensified 
by the Boston Tea Party. A bill was passed by both 
Houses of the British Parliament to close the port of 
Boston, and the discussion of the measure gave an 
opportunity to some of the statesmen of the moiher 
country to show their spite. Another law was passed, 
limiting and cutting down the power of the represen- 
tative assembly of Massachusetts, and providing that 
town meetings should not be held except on permission 
in writing from the royal governor. Another act was 
passed, giving the governor of the Province the power 
to send to Great liritain or to other Colonies persons 



48 






indicted for murder or charged with capital crimes 
committed in aiding the government of Massachusetts. 
These acts, intended to humiUate the Colonies, had the 
effect of inflaming them, and the Liberty Boys grew in 
numbers and determination. 

On the 20th of July, 1774, *'The Georgia Gazette," 
published at Savannah, contained an invitation to the 

people of the Province to 

\ s 

' meet at Tondee's Tavern 
on the 27th of July 
to take into con- 
sideration the un- 
just laws that had 
been passed by the 
British Parliament. 
The cause of Mas- 
sachusetts was the 
cause of all. The 
meeting was held, 
and stood ad- 
journed to the 
loth of August, in 
order to give all the paris"hes an opportunity to be 
represented by delegates. Governor Wright, loyal 
to the last, issued a proclamation warning the people 
of the Province to avoid attending the meeting ; but 
the proclamation was disregarded, and a meeting of 
the people of the Province was held at Tondee's Tav- 
ern on the lOth of August, 1774. Resolutions were 
adopted, declaring that his Majesty's subjects in America 
owed the same allegiance, and were entitled to the same 




49 

rights and privileges, as their fellow-subjects in Great 
Britain ; that the act lately passed for blockading the 
port of Boston was contrary to the British constitution ; 
that the act for abolishing the charter of Massachusetts 
Bay tended to the subversion of American rights ; that 
the Parliament of Great Britain had not, nor ever had, 
the right to tax his Majesty's American subjects ; and 
that every demand for the support of government 
should be by requisition made to the several houses 
of representatives. The resolutions covered all the 
grievances of the people of the Colonies. 

Meanwhile, Governor Wright was not idle. He called 
a convention of Royalists, which met, and signed a 
protest against the resolutions. Copies of this protest 
were made, and sent into all the parishes, by the gov- 
ernor's friends. Under pressure, many timid men who 
were really in sympathy with the Liberty Boys signed 
the protest. The signatures of dead men were used, 
and other frauds practiced, in order to make the dem- 
onstration in favor of the King sufficient to overawe 
those who had pledged themselves to American inde- 
pendence. In all this. Governor Wright was aided by 
the fact that the only newspaper in the Province, " The 
Georgia Gazette," was under his control. He was also 
aided by the geographical situation of Georgia, and by 
his own personal popularity. He had made a good 
governor. He had worked as hard for the prosperity 
and progress of the Province as he now worked to 
prevent the people from joining the movement for 
independence. 

The governor was successful to the dxtent that he 

STO. OF GA — 4 * 



50 

was able to prevent Georgia from sending duly accred- 
ited representatives to the First Continental Congress ; 
and this fact has been taken by some writers of history 
to mean that the spirit of liberty and independence was 
not as earnest and as enthusiastic in Georgia as in the 
other Provinces. Later, when Georgia was overrun by 
British and Tory influences, and appeared to be con- 
quered, ill-natured critics recalled the fact that her 
people were slow to join hands with those who advo- 
cated resistance to tyranny. 

When the South Carolina delegates to the First Con- 
tinental Congress returned to their homes, bearing 
with them copies of the Declaration of Colonial Rights, 
the Liberty Boys of Georgia renewed their movement 
with great zeal. Copies of the Declaration were dis- 
tributed throughout the Province. The result was, that 
the Liberty Boys grew steadily stronger in numbers, 
and more defiant in action. An idea of the situation at 
this time may be gathered from a letter written by Gov- 
ernor Wright to the Earl of Dartmouth on the 13th of 
December, 1774. He declared that the spirit of inde- 
pendence, or, as he called it, the spirit of enthusiasm, 
which many were possessed of before, " is raised to 
such a height of frenzy, that God knows what the con- 
sequences may be, or what man or whose property may 
escape their resentment." 

No doubt the amiable governor misunderstood the 
situation. What he regarded as ** frenzy " was merely 
the eager desire and the determination of the Liberty 
Boys of Georgia to redeem themselves in the eyes of 
their brethrennn the other Colonies. They were humili- 



51 

ated by their failure to send representatives to the Con- 
tinental Congress, and they endeavored to redeem 
themselves by increased zeal and enthusiasm. 

They arranged to hold a provincial congress in Sa- 
vannah on the 1 8th of January, 1775. Governor 
Wright, on hearing of this, determined to convene the 
Provincial General Assembly on the same day, hoping 
and believing that this would prevent a meeting of the 
Provincial Congress, or greatly hamper its action. But 
the governor was mistaken. The General Assembly 
met in response to the call, and so did the Provincial 
Congress. Governor Wright addressed the members, 
declaring to them the danger of the situation, and im- 
ploring them to be prudent and loyal. The upper 
house of the General Assembly made a response agree- 
able to the governor's expectations, but the lower house 
gave to its address a tone of independence that was not 
at all pleasing to the King's officer. He showed his 
displeasure, and placed a serious obstacle in the way 
of the Liberty Boys by adjourning the General Assem- 
bly until the 9th of the following May. The Assem- 
bly had met on the i8th of January, and was adjourned 
on the lOth of February; so that the Liberty Boys, who 
made up a majority of the lower house, had no time 
to appoint delegates to the Philadelphia congress soon 
to be held, nor to take any official action in behalf of 
the independence of Georgia. 

Governor Wright's plans were certainly very shrewdly 
laid. His adjournment of the General Assembly not 
only hampered the Provincial Congress (or convention) 
that had m^t at Savannah simultaneously with the legis- 



52 

latLire, but threw the delegates into confusion and dis- 
order, and was the means of causing the convention to 
adjourn without taking such action as the friends of 
liberty hoped for. All that it did was to elect three 
representatives to the Philadelphia congress. This was 
something, but it was not enough. The Liberty Boys 
expected the Provincial Convention to adopt all the 
measures and resolutions suggested by the Continental 
Congress. They therefore felt mortified when the con- 
vention adjourned, and left Georgia still outside the 
continental association. 

This event was a serious embarrassment to the other 
Colonies, and aroused the anger of those friends of lib- 
erty who were unable to understand the peculiar con- 
ditions that surrounded the movement for independence 
in Georgia. The friends of liberty in South Carolina 
were so indignant, that they denounced the Georgians 
" as unworthy the rights of freemen, and as inimical to 
the liberties of their country." Throughout the Col- 
onies, the partisans of American independence were 
deeply wounded by the apparent hesitation of the 
Georgians, while the Royalists were delighted. 

Though the Provincial Convention remained in ses- 
sion only seven days before adjourning, the delegates 
of St. John's Parish had withdrawn from the body. 
These delegates insisted on an emphatic indorsement 
of the acts of the Continental Congress, and they re- 
tired as soon as they found there would be some diffi- 
culty in bringing some of the hesitating members to 
their way of thinking. They retired, and selected Dr. 
Lyman Hall to represent St. John's in the Philadelphia 



53 



congress. He took his seat in that body, and although 
he cast no vote, he made his voice heard in the discus- 
sions. 

In spite of all the drawbacks which the Liberty Boys 
in Georgia had experienced, their enthusiasm did not 
cool. They never ceased their 
efforts, and the independence ^^ 
movement continued 
to grow. The pub- 
lic mind became more 
and more inflamed 
with resentment 
against the tyranny 
of King George and 
his Parliament, as the 
people heard of 
the progress of 
events in the more 
northern Colonies. 
By the loth of 
May the people of 
Savannah had heard 
of the shedding of Ameri- 
can blood by British troops at Lex- 
ington and Concord. As the news spread from parish 
to parish, the people became aroused, and the response 
of public sentiment was all that American patriots 
could expect. 

The first response of the Liberty Boys at Savannah 
was to seize the ammunition stored in the magazine. 
This event occurred on the night of the nth of May, 




54 

and was planned and carried out by the members of 
the Council of Safety. About six hundred pounds of 
powder fell into the hands of the Liberty Boys. Some 
was sent to South Carolina, and the rest was hidden in 
the garrets and cellars of the patriots who had seized it. 
Tradition says that some of this powder was sent to 
Massachusetts, where it was used by the patriots who 
drove the British before them at the battle of Bunker 
Hill. 

Other events occurred that showed the temper of the 
Liberty Boys. On the 4th of June, when Governor 
Wright came to fire salutes in honor of King George's 
birthday, he found the cannon had been spiked, dis- 
mounted, and rolled to the bottom of the bluff. On the 
5th of June the first liberty pole in the Colony was set 
up at Savannah. A young man named Hopkins, who 
spoke contemptuously of the members of the Committee 
of Public Safety was seized by a mob, tarred and 
feathered, placed in an illuminated cart, and paraded up 
and down the streets of Savannah. 

As the days went by, the independence movement in 
Georgia became more enthusiastic, the Liberty Boys 
more active. The first vessel armed and equipped for 
naval warfare during the Revolution was fitted up by 
the Liberty Boys of Georgia under the authority of the 
Provincial Convention, which had assembled in Savan- 
nah on the 4th of July, 1775. This event is interest- 
ing. The Carolina Committee of Safety had heard that 
a British ship had sailed for Georgia with a cargo of 
powder intended for the Indians and for the use of the 
Royalists, The Carolinians at once resolved to capture 



55 

the ship and seize the cargo. To that end, two barges, 
manned by forty well-armed men, were embarked from 
Beaufort, and went to the mouth of the Savannah River, 
where they encamped on a point that commanded a full 
view of Tybee Lighthouse. The Provincial Conven- 
tion, hearing of this expedition, offered to assist the offi- 
cers in every way possible. There was an armed British 
schooner in the river at that time ; and the Liberty 
Boys of Savannah determined to join forces with the 
Carolinians at Tybee, and effect her capture. For this 
purpose a schooner was equipped by the Provincial 
Convention, and placed under command of Captain 
Bowen and Joseph Habersham. This vessel was armed 
with ten carriage guns and swivels, and carried fifty men. 
The British armed vessel was not inclined to enter into 
a contest, but, when the Georgia schooner appeared, 
weighed anchor and sailed away. The schooner then 
took position beyond the harbor bar, and waited for 
the ship carrying the cargo of powder. She had not 
long to wait. On the lOth of July, 1775, the powder 
ship, commanded by Captain Maitland, made her ap- 
pearance. Before entering Tybee Inlet, however. Cap- 
tain Maitland saw the armed schooner. Suspecting 
that he was about to fall into a trap, he brought his 
vessel round, tacked, and stood out to sea. But he had 
gone too far. The Georgia schooner gave chase, and 
soon overtook and captured the ship. It was a fortu- 
nate capture for the Colonies. Five thousand pounds 
of powder were sent to Philadelphia, and nine thousand 
fell to the share of Georgia. 

The convention that commissioned the first armed 



56 

vessel of the Revolution did more important work 
than this. It placed the Province of Georgia in po- 
litical union with her sister Colonies, and gave her 
fellowship with those struggling Provinces. She was 
welcomed into the United Colonies with joyful demon- 
strations by the Continental Congress. By the 15th of 
April, 1776, the Liberty Boys in Georgia were so strong 
that Governor Wright had taken refuge on one of the 
King's vessels at Tybee ; and on that date the patriots 
took full charge of the government of the Province, 
Archibald Birlloch was the first republican president 
of Georgia. 

This is how the Liberty Boys took the Province of 
Georgia from his Majesty the King, and made a free 
and independent government. Their struggle did not 
end here, but the details of that struggle must be 
left to history to relate. 



A GROUP OF CHARACTERS. 

THE Revolutionary War in Georgia developed some 
very romantic figures, which are known to us rather 
by tradition than by recorded history. First among 
them, on the side of the patriots, was Robert Sallette. 
Neither history nor tradition gives us the place of his 
birth or the date of his death ; yet it is known that 
he played a more important part in the struggle in 
the Colony than any man who had no troops at his 
command. He seems to have slipped mysteriously on 
the scene at the beginning of the war. He fought 
bravely, even fiercely, to the end, and then, having 
nothing else to do, slipped away as mysteriously as 
he came. "In Liberty County," says history, ''there 
lived during the Revolution a man by the name of 
Robert Sallette, distinguished for his opposition to the 
Tories. It is not known with certainty to what par- 
ticular command he was attached. He appears to have 
been a sort of roving character, doing things in his 
own way." Here is the mystery of romance to begin 
with. Here is the wanderer, — the character so dear 
to the imagination of youth. 

"The Tories," says history further, " stood very much 
in dread of him ; and well they might, for never had 
they a more formidable foe." Here, then, is the hero 

57 



58 

and the wanderer combined in one person, and that 
person fighting for the hoHest cause in which man can 
take up arms, — the rights and liberties of the people. 
What more could be asked ? 

Curious as we may be to know somethins: of the 
personal history of Robert Sallette, it is not to be found 
chronicled in the books. The French twist to his name 
makes it probable that he was a descendant of those 
unfortunate Acadians who, years before, had been 
stripped of their lands and possessions in Nova Scotia 
by the British, their houses and barns burned, and 
they themselves transported away from their homes. 
They were scattered at various points along the Amer- 
ican coast. Some were landed at Philadelphia, and 
some were carried to Louisiana. Four hundred were 
sent to Georgia. The British had many acts of cruelty 
to answer for in those days, but none more infamous 
than this treatment of the gentle and helpless Aca- 
dians. It stands in history to-day a stain upon the 
British name. 

Another fact that leads to the belief that Robert 
Sallette was a descendant of the unfortunate Acadians 
was the ferocity with which he pursued the British and 
the Tories. The little that is told about him makes it 
certain that he never gave quarter to the enemies of his 
country. 

His name was a terror to the Tories. One of them, 
a man of considerable means, offered a reward of one 
hundred guineas to any person who would bring him 
the head of Robert Sallette. The Tory had never seen 
Sallette, but his alarm was such that he offered a 



59 



reward large enough to tempt some one to assassinate 
the daring partisan. When Sallette heard of the re- 
ward, he disguised himself as a farmer, and provided 
himself with a pumpkin, which he placed in a bag. 
With the bag swinging across his shoulder, he made his 
way to the house of the Tory. He was invited in, and 
deposited the bag on the floor beside 
him, the pumpkin striking the boards 
with a thump. 

" I have brought you the 
head of Robert Sallette," 
said he. " I hear that 
you have offered a re- 
ward of one hundred 
guineas for it." 

'' Where is it ? " 
asked the Tory. 

'' I have it with 
me," replied Sal- 
lette, shaking the 
loose end of the bag. 
" Count me out the money 
and take the head." 

The Tory, neither doubting nor sus- 
pecting, counted out the money, and placed it on 
the table. 

*' Now show me the head," said he. 

Sallette removed his hat, tapped himself on the fore- 
head, and said, '' Here is the head of Robert Sallette ! " 

The Tory was so frightened that he jumped from the 
room, and Sallette pocketed the money and departed. 




6o 

On one occasion Robert Sallette is known to have 
spared the Hves of two Tories, at least for a Httle while. 
Once when he and Andrew Walthour (for whom 
Walthourville in Georgia is named) and another man 
were riding along a narrow trail late in the afternoon, 
they met three other riders whom they suspected to 
be Tories. The plan that Sallette and his companions 
adopted to capture the men was very simple. An- 
drew Walthour, who was riding in front, was to pass the 
first and second men, Robert Sallette to pass the first. 
As Walthour came to the third man when Sallette had 
come to the second, and their companion to the first, the 
Liberty Boys seized the guns of the three simultaneously. 
The men had no opportunity either to fight or escape. 

" Dismount, gentlemen!" said Sallette. Then he ad- 
dressed himself to the leader. "What is your name.'*" 

In reply to this, a fictitious name was given, as Sal- 
lette and his companions afterwards found out. 

" Where is your camp ? " asked Sallette. 

"We are from over the river," answered the man, 
meaning the Altamaha. 

" Where did you cross ? " 

" At Beards Ferry." This was where the W^higs and 
the Liberty Boys were most numerous. 

" That is not true ! " exclaimed Sallette. 

Then he turned to the second man, asked the same 
questions, and received the same replies. He turned to 
the third man, asked the same questions, and received 
the same replies. 

" If you do not tell me the truth," exclaimed Sallette 
to this last man, " I'll cut off your head ! " 



6i 

The man persisted, and Sallette was as good as his 
word. The others begged for their lives, and declared 
that they would guide Sallette straight to their camp. 
This they did ; and Sallette, aided by his prisoners, 
captured a large party of Tories. 

Once when Robert Sallette and Andrew Walthour 
were marching with the advance guard of the American 
troops, they suddenly met the advance guard of the 
British. A short but sharp skirmish followed, during 
which a very large man of the British guard was killed. 
Observing that the dead man wore a pair of good boots, 
Sallette determined to get them. While he was pulling 
them off in the midst of a furious fire from the enemy, 
his companions called out to him to come away or he 
would surely be killed. *' I must have the boots ! " cried 
Sallette to his companions. " I want them for little 
John Way ! " 

Here was fun in the midst of tragedy ; for it is said 
that little John Way could have put both his feet and 
his fists into one of the boots. 

One day Sallette dressed himself up as a British 
officer and accepted an invitation to dine with a party 
of the enemy. Suddenly, in the midst of the toasting 
and drinking, Sallette drew his sword, killed the men 
who sat to the right and left of him, sprang on his 
horse, and rode off unhurt, though he was in such a 
hurry that he had no time to throw the bridle reins over 
the horse's head. 

At the White House, near Sunbury, Major Baker, of 
the patriot army, with thirty men, attacked and defeated 
a party of Tories under command of Captain Goldsmith. 



62 

Among the slain was Lieutenant Gray, whose head was 
almost severed from his body by a stroke of Robert 
Sallette's sword. 

On many occasions, when a battle was in progress, 
Sallette would detach himself from the American 
army, gain the rear of the enemy, and kill many 
men before he was discovered. If this brave man 
was indeed a descendant of the Acadians, he avenged 
the wrongs of many of his countrymen. 

Another character who attracted attention during 
the War of the Revolution was Patrick Carr, whose 
hatred of the Tories made his name celebrated among 
the Liberty Boys of Georgia. Paddy Carr, as he was 
called, lived and died in Jefferson County. He was 
born in Ireland, but came to Georgia before the Revo- 
lution. When the independence movement began, he 
threw himself into it with all the ardor of his race. 
Owing to the cruelty of the Tories, he conceived a 
special hatred against them. He showed them no 
quarter. History gives but a word or two to his 
achievements, but tradition still keeps his name alive 
in the region where he operated. Like Sallette, he 
was an independent partisan ; but, unlike Sallette, his 
operations were among those who could remember 
well enough, but who would not take the trouble to 
preserve the particulars of even the least of his ex- 
ploits. We know that Patrick Carr lived. We know 
that he became famous where recklessness and daring 
were common. But that is nearly all we know. It is 
said of him that during the war he killed one hun- 
dred Tories with his own hands. Once, when praised 



63 

for his bravery, he smiled and shook his head, saying 
that he would have made a very good soldier, but the 
Lord had given him a heart that was too merciful. 
He no doubt remembered the atrocities of the Tories 
in the section that is now Jefferson, Columbia, Burke, 
and Wilkes counties. The cruelties they committed in 
that region during the Revolution have no parallel in 
civilized warfare. 

Among the adventurous characters of that time, on 
the side of the British, Daniel McGirth stands easily 
first. The history of his career during the war is a 
strange one. He wa.s born in South Carolina, and 
entered into the struggle against the British with 
the utmost enthusiasm. He was a brave man, a hard 
fighter, and one of the most active of those who took 
up arms against the King. He was an expert woods- 
man, and was at hone in the saddle. He was as- 
signed to duty as a scout, and was better equipped 
for that service, perhaps, than any man in the Amer- 
ican army. The ease with which he secured informa- 
tion of the enemy's movements and plans, and the 
energy that marked his movements, made his services 
of great value to the patriot cause. This was not 
thoroughly appreciated by some of the officers under 
whom McGirth acted. 

He brought with him into the army a mare which 
he called *'The Gray Goose." She is said to have 
been an elegant animal, and McGirth was very proud 
of her. With this mare under him, he always felt safe 
from pursuit. One of the American officers, who was a 
good judge of horseflesh, and who probably wanted to 



64 

"cut a dash," as the saying is, saw this beautiful mare, 
and coveted her. Finding that McGirth scorned all 
offers to sell her, the ofificer adopted various means to 
obtain her. These efforts were resisted by McGirth, 
mainly on the ground that the mare was his own pri- 
vate property, and that she was essential to the duties 
he was called on to perform. Failing to gain his ends 
in this way, the officer continued to worry McGirth in 
other ways. He no doubt did something to rouse the 
ire of the scout, who was an irritable man, and who 
felt the importance of the service he was rendering to 
the cause. It is not now known how McGirth in- 
sulted the ofificer, — whether in a moment of passion 
he struck him, or whether he merely used rough lan- 
guage to him. 

Whatever the offense, McGirth was placed under 
arrest, tried by a court-martial, found guilty of violat- 
ing the articles of war, and sentenced to be whipped. 
He received this punishment, and was placed in con- 
finement again, where he was to remain until he re- 
ceived another whipping. While thus held, he saw 
his mare picketed near the camp, and he immediately 
resolved to escape. He was successful in this. Once 
free, he secured The Gray Goose, leaped into the 
saddle, turned around, and, in the face of his pur- 
suers, pronounced threats of vengeance against all 
the Americans for his ill treatment. 

There is no doubt that he was illtreated ; but if he 
had not been an ignorant man, he would not have pro- 
nounced against the cause of liberty on account of the 
treatment he received at the hands of individuals. But 



65 



the savage in his nature was aroused, and he carried out 
his fierce threats to the fullest extent. For the time 
being, he attached himself to another American com- 
mand ; but at the first opportunity he deserted to the 
enemy, and became the scourge and terror of those who 
opposed the British cause. He 
spared none. His field ex- f I^l-i^-' / 

tended from the Florida line ' -t --*«*.• - 

to the Savannah River, in 
what is now Elbert 
County, and far into ,. - 
South CaroHna. He 
appeared when least 
expected, and car- d^{%^^^ 
ried destruction 
with him. His 
mare became as noted 
as her master. In what 
was then Upper Georgia, 
she was known as 
"The Bald-faced . 
Pony." On many 
an occasion he owed 
his life to the fleetness 
of his mare. But his 
vengeance was never satisfied : it was always active, 
and thirsting for the blood of the American patriot. 
The whim of the officer to possess McGirth's mare was 
a foolish one at best. It was the cause of great public 
and private suffering. 

When South Carolina was rescued from the British, 
STO. OF c;a. — 5 




66 

McGirth retreated into Georgia, and finally into Florida. 
When the Sj^aniards regained possession of that terri- 
tory, he became subject to their laws. For some reason 
or other he was thrown into one of the dungeons of the 
old fort at St. Augustine, where he was confined for five 
years. When released, his health w^as broken, and it 
was with great difficulty that he managed to return to 
Sumter District, in South Carolina, where his wife lived. 

A very queer and eccentric character in the Revolu- 
tion was Captain Rory Mcintosh, of Mallow. Though 
Rory was a kinsman of General Lachlan and Colonel 
John Mcintosh, who were among the most active Lib- 
erty Boys in Georgia, he took up arms for the King, 
and a very devoted Tory he was. His eccentricities 
would have been called whims if he had not stuck to 
them with such constancy. He was a Highlander and 
a follower of the Stuarts. How and why he became 
loyal to the new line of British kings, history does not 
state ; but his clan had a chief, and he no doubt thought 
that every government ought to have a monarch. When 
the Revolution began, he was over sixty years of age, 
and was living comfortably on his plantation at Mallow ; 
but he volunteered, and fought through the war. 

A story is told of Rory Mcintosh that once when 
the Spaniards held East Florida, he carried to St. 
Augustine a drove of cattle. He received payment in 
dollars, which he placed in a canvas bag behind him 
on his horse. When near his home, the bag gave way, 
and a part of the money fell out. He secured what 
was left and rode on, paying no attention to that which 
had fallen from the bag. When in need of money 



€>7 



some years after, he returned to the place where the 
dollars had spilled, picked up as many as he wanted, 
and went back home. Whenever he could, he went 
about accompanied by a j^iper. Rory was a tall, finely 
formed man, with bristling whiskers and a ruddy com- 
plexion : consequently when he appeared on parade, he 
attracted great attention. 

In 1778 two expeditions were sent from St. Augustine 
for the purpose of attacking Savannah, — 
one by sea, and one by land under com- 
mand of Lieutenant Colonel Prevost. This 
land expedition had 
been joined by Cap- 
tain Roderick Mcin- 
tosh, in the capacity 
of a volunteer. He 
attached himself par- 
ticularly to the 
infantry company 
commanded by Captain 
Murray. When the British 
laid siege to Sunbury and 
the fort. Captain Murray's company was in 
the line near the fort. One morning when Captain Rory 
had had a dram too much, he determined to sally out and 
summon the fort to surrender. His comrades tried to re- 
strain him, but he was determined. Finally he strutted 
out, a drawn claymore in his hand, with his trusty slave 
Jim. He approached the fort and cried out, — 

" Surrender, you miscreants ! How dare you presume 
to resist his Majesty's arms?" 








68 

Colonel Mcintosh, who commanded the fort, saw at 
once the condition of Captain Rory, and forbade the 
men to fire. Then he threw open the gate, and said, — 

"Walk in, Mr. Mcintosh, and take possession." 

*'No," cried Rory, "I'll not trust myself among 
such vermin. I order you to surrender ! " 

At that moment a rifle was fired by some one in the 
fort, and the ball passed through Captain Rory's face 
from side to side under the eyes. He fell backwards, 
but immediately recovered, and stood on his feet flour- 
ishing his claymore. Then he began to walk backward, 
his face to the fort. Several shots were fired at him, 
and Jim called out, — 

" Run, massa, run ! dev kill you ! " 

"Run!" cried Rory scornfully. "You may run, but 
I belong to a race that never runs ! " 

It was at the siege of Sunbury that Colonel Mcin- 
tosh, when summoned by Colonel Prevost to surrender 
the fort, sent back the reply, " Come and take it ! " 



AUNT NANCY HART. 

THERE lived in Georgia, during the Revolutionary 
struggle, the most remarkable woman in some 
respects that the country has produced. To find her 
match, we shall have to go to the fables that arc told 
about the Amazons. The Liberty Boys called her 
Aunt Nancy Hart. The Indians, struck by her won- 
derful feats in behalf of her country, called her '* The 
War Woman; " and there is a creek in Elbert County, 
where she lived, that was named by the Indians 
" War Woman's Creek." 

There are other heroines to whom history has 
paid more attention, and whose deeds have been cele- 
brated in song and story ; but not one of them was 
more devoted to the high cause of freedom, or more 
courageous, or depended less on aid from others, than 
Aunt Nancy Hart. In this last respect, the War 
Woman of Georgia stands alone in history, just as 
she stood alone when the Tories were waging a war of 
extermination, sparing neither women nor children, in 
the region in which she lived. Invention and fable 
have kindly come to the aid of the most famous of 
the world's heroines, but neither fable nor invention 
has touched the character or the deeds of this hero- 
ine of the Revolution. She stands out on the pages 

69 



70 

of history rough, uncouth, hot-tempered, unmanageable, 
uneckicated, impoUte, ugly, and sharp-tongued ; but, as 
her friends said of her, '' What a honey of a patriot 
she was ! " She loved the Liberty Boys as well as 
she loved her own children. It has been said that 
she was cruel ; but this charge may as well be put 
out of sight. Before passing upon it, we should have 
to know what the War Woman's eyes had seen, and 
what terrible revelations her ears had heard. Standinsf 
for American independence in a region that swarmed 
with Tories, whose murderous deeds never have been 
and never will be fully set forth, Aunt Nancy Hart 
had to defend her own hearthstone and her own 
children. 

The maiden name of this remarkable woman was 
Morgan, and she was born in North Carolina. She 
married Benjamin Hart, a brother of Colonel Thomas 
Hart of Kentucky. Thomas Hart was the father of 
the wife of Henry Clay, and the uncle of the cele- 
brated Thomas Hart Benton. Aunt Nancy and her 
husband moved to Georgia with the North Carolina 
emigrants, and settled on Broad River, in what is 
now Elbert County. She was nearly six feet high, and 
very muscular, — the result of hard work. She had 
red hair, and it is said that she was cross-eyed, but 
this has been denied on good authority. It matters 
little. Her eyes were keen enough to pierce through 
all Tory disguises, and that was enough for her. It 
is certain that her courage and her confidence kept 
alive the spark of liberty in hearts that would other- 
wise have smothered it, and was largely responsible 



71 

for kindling it into the flame that finally swept the 
British out of that section, and subdued the Tories. 
When the Whigs and patriots who had been her 
neighbors were compelled to flee before the murderous 
Tories, she refused to go with them, but stood her 
ground and never ceased to speak her sentiments 
boldly. Nothing but the wholesome dread with which 
she had inspired them prevented the Tories from mur- 
dering her and her children. When General Elijah 
Clarke moved the women and children of the Broad 
River region to an asylum in Kentucky, and the Lib- 
erty Boys had taken refuge in South Carolina, Aunt 
Nancy Hart remained at home, and for a long and 
dismal period she was unprotected save by her own 
remarkable courage. 

At that period the houses were built of logs, and 
the chimneys were built of sticks plastered with clay. 
They were called ''stack chimneys." One evening 
Aunt Nancy and her children were sitting around the 
fire, on which a pot of soap was boiling. Now, a pot 
of soap must be constantly stirred, and for this the 
strong, muscular arms of Aunt Nancy were peculiarly 
fitted. So she stirred the soap, and, as she stirred, told 
the youngsters the latest news of the war. Presently 
one of her children chanced to discover some one 
peeping through the crack of the chimney, eaves- 
dropping. By a gesture or a nod of the head Aunt 
Nancy was informed of what was going on. She 
smiled, and grew more spirited in her talk, rattling 
away and laughing as she gave exaggerated accounts 
of the recent defeats of the Tories. As she talked, 



72 



If i 



she stirred the bubbling soap, and kept her keen 
eyes on the crack where the eavesdropper had been 
seen. Suddenly she dashed a ladleful of boiling soap 
through the crack full into the face of the intruder. 
■ It was so quickly and deftly done, that the 
|; eavesdropper had no time to dodge the scalding 

stuff. He received the full 
benefit of it. Blinded and 
half crazed by the pain, he 
howled and screamed at a 
tremendous rate. Aunt 
Nancy went out, and, 
after amusing herself at his 
expense, bound him fast and 
held him prisoner. The prob- 
ability is that the next day she 
tucked up her petticoats, shoul- 
V dered her gun, and com- 

pelled the unluckv Tory 
to ford the river ahead of 
her ; and that, once on the 
other side, she kept in 
constant communication 
with the Clarkes and with 
.|,, (jther partisans of the 

American cause. 
Her husband, whom she sometimes jokingly de- 
scribed as " a poor stick," assisted her in her commu- 
nications. A conch shell was kept at the spring, some 
distance from the house. On this conch shell the chil- 
dren were taught to blow the blasts that gave Mr. Hart 




73 

information. One signal was, "The enemy is at hand;'' 
another was, " Keep close ; " another, " Make tracks for 
the swamp ; " and still another was that he and his 
friends were wanted at the cabin. 

At the very darkest hour of the Revolution in 
Georgia, Aunt Nancy performed one of her most re- 
markable feats, — one that brought into play all the 
courage and devotion of her strong nature, and all the 
tact and audacity that belonged to her character. 

Brigadier General Andrew Williamson, with three 
hundred men, was encamped near Augusta. When 
Charleston fell, this officer, who was already a traitor, 
though his treachery had not been avowed, called his 
officers together, and expressed the opinion that it 
would be foolish to further resist the King. He there- 
fore advised them to return to their homes, and there 
accept the protection which would be offered them. 
He then abandoned his command, which was immedi- 
ately disbanded. Shortly afterwards Colonels Brown 
and Garrison, two partisans of the King's army who had 
made themselves notorious by their cruelty to Ameri- 
cans, seized Augusta. Brown had been tarred and 
feathered in Augusta just before the breaking-out of 
the Revolution, and he made the patriots of that town 
and of the country roundabout pay dearly for the indig- 
nities that had been heaped upon him on account of 
his loyalty to the Crown. He confiscated the property 
of the patriots, and issued an order banishing all Whig 
families beyond the borders of Georgia. 

Raiding parties were sent into the region in the 
neighborhood of Augusta to compel the inhabitants to 



74 

take the oath of allegiance to the King. One of these 
parties entered the house of Colonel John Dooly, a gal- 
lant officer, and murdered him in cold blood in the pres- 
ence of his wife and children. Colonel Dooly was the 
father of Judge Dooly, who became famous in Georgia 
after the war. 

A detachment of this murdering party found its way 
to Aunt Nancy Hart's cabin. There were five Tories 
in the detachment, and Aunt Nancy received them 
coldly enough. They told her they had come to inquire 
into the truth of a report they had heard to the effect 
that she had aided a well-knowm rebel to escape from 
a company of King's men by w^hom he w^as pursued. 
With a twinkle of malice in her eyes, Aunt Nancy 
boldly declared that she had aided her Liberty Boy to 
escape, and then she described the affair. 

She said that one day she heard the gallop of a horse. 
Looking out, she saw a horseman approaching, and at 
once knew him to be a Whig flying from pursuers. 
She let down the bars near her cabin, told him to ride 
his horse right through her house, in at the front door 
and out at the back, to take to the swamp, and hide 
himself the best he could. She then put up the bars, 
entered her house, closed the doors, and went about her 
business. In a little while a party of Tories rode up, 
and called to her w^ith some rudeness. She muffled her 
head and face in a shawl, opened the door slowly, and 
asked in a feeble voice who it was that wanted to pester 
a sick, lone woman. The Tories said they had been pur- 
suing a man, and had traced him near her house. They 
wanted to know if any one had passed that w^ay. " I 



75 

told 'em," said Aunt Nancy to the listening Tories, **that 
I had seen a man on a sorrel horse turn out of the road 
into the woods a little ways back. So they went back 
and took to the woods, and my Whig boy got off safe 
and sound." 

Naturally this story, boldly told, did not please the 
five Tories who heard it ; but something in the War 
Woman's eye prevented them from offering her any 
personal injury. Instead, they ordered her to give 
them something to eat. 

*' I never feed King's men if I can help it," she 
replied. " The scamps have fixed me so that I can't 
feed my own family in a decent manner. They have 
run off with all my pigs and poultry except that old 
gobbler you see in the yard there." 

"Well, you shall cook the old gobbler for us," ex- 
claimed one who seemed to be the leader of the 
party. Suiting the action to the word, he raised his 
musket and shot the gobbler. One of his men brought 
it into the house and gave it to Aunt Nancy, with or- 
ders to clean and cook it at once. This, of course, 
made that stanch patriot very angry, and she gave' the 
Tories a violent tongue lashing. 

It is probable that while she was dressing the turkey 
for the pot, the Tories let some hint drop about the 
outrageous murder of Colonel John Dooly, who was a 
warm friend of Aunt Nancy's. At any rate, she sud- 
denly changed her tactics. She ceased to storm and 
quarrel, the scowl left her face, and she soon seemed 
to be in high good humor. She went about getting 
the meal ready with great good will. She sent her 



76 

little girl to the spring after water, but told her to 
sound on the conch shell the signal to *' keep close," 
so that her husband and his neighbors who were with 
him might know there were Tories in the cabin. 

While the daughter was gone after water, one of the 
Tories volunteered to take her place in helping to get 
everything ready. Aunt Nancy accepted his services, 
and joked with him with great freedom and familiar- 
ity. Like all women of spirit and independence, Aunt 
Nancy possessed a considerable fund of humor, and it 
stood her in good stead now. She contrived to thor- 
oughly interest the Tories, and it was not long before 
they were in the most jovial frame of mind imagina- 
ble. They had expected to find a bad-tempered, ill- 
conditioned woman ; and they were agreeably surprised 
when they found, instead, a woman who could match 
their rude jests, and make herself thoroughly enter- 
taining. 

The Tories had brought a jug with them, and they 
were so pleased with Aunt Nancy's seeming friendli- 
ness that they invited her to drink with them. ''I'll 
take one swig with you," said Aunt Nancy, " if it kills 
every cow on the Island," meaning a neck of land at 
the junction of river and creek where the Whig fami- 
lies of the neighborhood pastured their cattle and hid 
them. The Tories laughed and drank, and then they 
laughed and drank again. They kept this up until the 
old gobbler had been cooked to Aunt Nancy's satisfac- 
tion ; and by the time they were ready to sit down to 
table they were in a very merry mood indeed. 

They had stacked their arms within easy reach of 



17 

where they had been sitting and drinking ; but Aunt 
Nancy had moved her table to the middle of the floor, 
so as to be able to walk around it on all sides while 
waiting on the Tories. In helping the men to the 
turkey and other eatables that she had prepared, she 
frequently came between them and their muskets. The 
Tories had hardly begun to eat before they called for 
water. Aunt Nancy, expecting this, had used up in 
cooking all that had been brought : consequently her 
daughter had to take the piggin and go to the spring 
after a fresh supply. She went with instructions to sig- 
nal her father, and the neighbors who were with him, to 
come immediately to the cabin. While her daughter 
was at the spring. Aunt Nancy managed to pull off 
one of the boards that filled the space between the logs 
of the house, and through this crack she slipped two 
of the muskets. She was slipping the third through 
when her movements caught the eye of one of the 
Tories. Instantly the men sprang to their feet, but 
Aunt Nancy was now in her element. Quick as a 
flash she clapped the musket to her shoulder, and 
threatened to shoot the first man that approached her. 
The men, knowing her reputation as a fighter, and 
awed by her appearance, hesitated. At last one bolder 
than the rest began to advance toward her. She fired 
promptly, and at the report of the gun the man fell 
dead on the floor. 

Before the others could recover from their conster- 
nation. Aunt Nancy had seized another musket, and 
held it m readiness to fire again. Her daughter had 
now returned . from the spring with the mformation 



78 

that her father and his neighbors would soon arrive. 
Directed by her mother, the girl took the remaining 
musket and carried it out of the house. The Tories, 
seeing that no time was to be lost in recovering their 
arms, proposed to rush upon Aunt Nancy in a body 




and overpower her. But the War Woman was equal 
to the occasion. She fired again, and brought down 
another Tory. As she did so, the daughter, acting on 
her orders, handed her another musket. Then, taking 
position in the doorway, she called on the men to " sur- 
render their ^ugly Tory carcasses to a Whig woman." 



79 

The Tories agreed to surrender, and wanted to shake 
hands to make the bargain binding ; but Aunt Nancy 
kept her position in the doorway until her husband and 
his friends made their appearance. The Whigs wanted 
to shoot the Tories ; but Aunt Nancy, whose blood 
was up, declared thgit shooting was too good for them. 
"They've murdered John Dooly," she exclaimed; "now 
let them hang for it!" Thereupon the Tories were 
taken out and hanged. The tree f;:om which they 
swung was still standing as late as 1838, and was 
often pointed out by old people who had lived through 
the troubled times of the Revolution. 

One day Aunt Nancy met a Tory going along the 
highway. She engaged him in conversation, diverted 
his attention, and suddenly seized his gun and wrenched 
it away from him. She then ordered him to take up 
the line of march for a fort not far distant. Not daring: 
to disobey, the man marched before her, as many others 
had been compelled to do, and she turned him over to 
the commander of the fort. 

When Augusta was in the hands of the British, and 
their raiding parties had been driven in by the Ameri- 
cans under Colonel Elijah Clarke, it became necessary 
for that commander to get some positive information 
in regard to the^ intentions of the British. At this 
juncture Aunt Nancy came to the rescue. She dis- 
guised herself as a man, and went boldly into the 
British camp. She remained there for several days, 
pretending to be crazy. In this way she secured a 
great deal of important information, and made haste 
to carry it to Colonel Clarke. 



8o 

Aunt Nancy was once left in a fort with several 
other women and a number of small children, her own 
among the rest. The men had gone out in search of 
supplies. They had not expected an attack, and had 
left only one of their number, a young man, to protect 
the women and children. Suddenly a party of Tories 
and Indians made its appearance, and surrounded the 
fort, which was nothing more than a stockade. The 
yelling of the savages threw all the women and children 
into the utmost confusion, — all except Aunt Nancy. 
,That wonderful woman, who never knew what fear 
was, only became more energetic in the face of danger. 
There was a small cannon in the fort, but it was not 
in position to reach the enemy with its fire. After 
trying her best to lift the cannon into position. Aunt 
Nancy remembered the young man who had been left 
in the fort, and looked about for him ; but he was not 
to be seen. A close search discovered him hiding 
under a cowhide. Aunt Nancy pulled him out by the 
heels, and vowed she would make mince-meat of him 
unless he helped her to move the cannon. The fellow 
knew perfectly well that Aunt Nancy was not to be 
trifled with when her blood was up. He gave her the 
necessary assistance. She aimed the cannon and fired 
it, and the Tories and savages promptly took to their 
heels. 

On another occasion when the river was high, it be- 
came necessary for the Americans on the Georgia side 
to know what was going on on the Carolina side ; but 
no one could be induced to venture across. Hearing 
of the difificulty, Aunt Nancy promptly undertook to go. 



8i 

The freshet had swept away all the boats, but to Aunt 
Nancy this was a trifling matter. She found a few 
logs, tied them together with grapevines, and on this 
raft made the voyage across the river. She gathered 
the necessary information, and made haste to commu- 
nicate it to the Georgia troops. 

Aunt Nancy was the mother of eight children, — six 
sons and two daughters. Her eldest daughter, Sally, 
married a man named Thompson, who was as quick- 
tempered as his mother-in-law. After the war, Aunt 
Nancy moved to Brunswick. Sally and her husband 
followed a year or two later. In passing through 
Burke County, they camped for the night by the road- 
side. The next morning Thompson ordered a white 
man, who had been hired as a teamster, to perform 
some duty. Thompson's tone was so peremptory that 
the man returned an insolent answer, and refused. In 
a fit of rage, Thompson drew his sword, and severed the 
man's head from his body with one swinging stroke. 
He then drove the team himself until he came to the 
first house, where he gave information that he had cut 
off a fellow's head at the camp down the road, and 
that they ** had best go and bury him." He then drove 
on, but was overtaken, arrested, and lodged in jail at 
Waynesboro. As soon as Aunt Nancy heard of the 
trouble, she made her appearance in the upcountry again. 
Within a few days after her return, the jail was found 
open one morning, and Thompson was gone. Speaking 
of this afterwards, Aunt Nancy was heard to exclaim, — 

** Drat 'em ! that's the way with 'em all. When they 
get into trouble, they always send for me ! " 

STO. OF GA. — 6 



82 

Not long after this episode, Mr. Benjamin Hart died. 
Aunt Nancy mourned his loss for a while, and then mar- 
ried a young man. Then, as the saying is, she " pulled 
up stakes," and moved to what is now the State of 
Alabama, on the Tombigbee. There she had the French 
and the Spaniards for neighbors, and she felt at home 
with neither race. She was bluntly, emphatically, and 
unaffectedly American. To add to her troubles, a big 
rain flooded the river, destroyed her crops, and sur- 
rounded her house. This, with the French and Span- 
iards, was too much for her. She returned to Georgia, 
but, finding her old home occupied by others, she settled 
in Edgefield, S.C. 

A Methodist society was formed in her neighborhood, 
and its influence became so active that Aunt Nancy's 
conscience began to trouble her. She listened to the 
preaching of the Word from a distance until she be- 
came worried about her future state. She went to 
the meetinghouse, but found the door closed against 
intruders. The deacon and members were holding 
a class meeting. The closed door was no obstacle 
to Aunt Nancy. She cut the fastening and walked 
in without ceremony. Once in, she found what she 
wanted. She became an enthusiastic Methodist, and 
is said to have fought Satan and sin as manfully as she 
fought the Tories and the British. 

When Governor George R. Gilmer of Georgia was in 
Congress, in 1828-29, the members were very anxious 
to attract the notice of General Jackson, who had been 
elected President. A proposal was made to fill the 
vacant niches in the rotunda with paintings descriptive 



83 

of the battle of New Orleans and the general's other 
victories. Governor Gilmer offered as an amendment 
a resolution to fill one of the niches with a painting of 
Aunt Nancy Hart wading Broad River, her petticoats 
held up with one hand, a musket in the other, and 
driving three Tories before her, to deliver them up to 
Colonel Elijah Clarke. 

Governor Gilmer's proposition was a more sensible 
one than he intended it to be. Georgia has perpetu- 
ated Aunt Nancy's name by calling a county after her ; 
but the Republic owes something to her memory. 



TWO SOLDIERS OF THE REVOLUTION. 

THE pen of the historian is not always as impartial 
as it should be. It has its spites and prejudices; 
and it frequently happens that the men who wield the 
pen with which history is written, have their whims, 
their likes, and their dislikes. It is certain that two of 
the hardest fighters in the War for Independence — two 
of the most distinguished ofificers that Georgia gave to 
the cause — have had tardy justice done to their valor. 
The names of these men are General James Jackson 
and General Elijah Clarke. The independence and the 
individuality of these men stand clearly out in all the 
records that we have of them, and it is no doubt true 
that these qualities made them to some degree unpopu- 
lar with those who inspired the early chroniclers of the 
Revolution in the South. Neither of these officers 
was capable of currying favor with his superiors, or of 
doing injustice to the humblest of his comrades. They 
were not seekers after the bubble reputation, but had 
their minds and all their energies bent on liberating 
Georgia and her sister Colonies. 

General James Jackson was born in the county of 

Devon, England. He came to this country in 1772, 

landing at Savannah penniless and almost friendless. 

He began the study of law ; but when the Liberty Boys 

\ 84 



85 

began their movement for resisting British oppression, 
he placed his books on their shelves, and gave himself 
entirely to the cause of the people. When only nine- 
teen years old, he was one of the volunteers that fired 
the British armed vessels sent to attack Savannah by 
water, while Major Maitland and Major Grant attacked 
it by land. The crews of these vessels were compelled 
to escape without their clothes and arms. General 
Jackson served in the lower part of Georgia until the 
fall of Savannah in 1778, when he and his friend John 
Milledge made their way to the patriot troops, com- 
manded by General Moultrie. Such was the condition 
of these men, both of whom afterwards became gov- 
ernors of Georgia, that they were compelled to make 
the greater part of their journey barefoot and in rags. 
Their appearance was so much against them that they 
were arrested as spies by some American soldiers, and 
would have been hanged but for the timely arrival of a 
gentleman who knew them. 

General Jackson was at the siege of Savannah, and, 
after the disastrous result of that affair, returned to 
South Carolina. The victory of the Americans at 
Blackstock's House, in South Carolina, was almost 
wholly due to the Georgians who were there. Sum- 
ter commanded at the beginning of the action, but a 
severe wound compelled him to retire from the field. 
The command then devolved upon the oldest Georgia 
officer, General John Twiggs, who was assisted by 
Jackson, Clarke, and Chandler. In this engagement 
Tarleton, the famous leader of the l^ritish dragoons, was 
defeated for the first time, and he was never able to 



S6 



recover the prestige he had lost. Tarleton 

fled from the field, and Jackson 

was ordered to pursue him. It 

was owing only to the fleetness 

of his horse that Tarleton 

escaped. 

At the battle of The Cow- 
pens, Jackson again distin- 
guished himself. "Major 
Jackson," says General 
Andrew Pickens, **by his 
example, and firm, active 
conduct, did much to 
animate the soldiers 
and insure the success 
of the day. He ran 
the utmost risk of his 
life in seizing the colors 
of the 71st British Reg- 
iment, and afterwards 
introducing Major Mc- 
^^ X ' A'"'^ Arthur, commanding 
1 ' ^^ officer of the British 
Infantry, as a prisoner of war to General Morgan." 
His services brought him to the attention of General 
Greene, and he was sent on a tour of difficult duty 
through North Carolina. He was so successful in this, 
that the commanding general authorized him to raise a 
partisan legion of infantry and cavalry for service in 
Georgia. By means of his native eloquence, which 
was said to be almost irresistible, he succeeded in rais- 




87 

ing the legion in a very short time. Wherever he 
addressed the people, there were loud cries of " Liberty 
and Jackson forever!" When his legion had been 
organized, he was appointed lieutenant colonel. His 
dragoons were clothed and armed by themselves, with 
the exception of their pistols. Their coats were made 
of dressed deerskins, and faced with the little blue that 
could be procured. 

Just before the siege of Augusta, Jackson was called 
upon to employ his eloquence in preventing the militia 
from giving up in despair and returning to their homes. 
These men were utterly worn out. Being ignorant 
men, they could see no ray of hope. They lacked 
every necessary of life. Jackson roused their droop- 
ing spirits, restored their hopes, and revived their old- 
time enthusiasm. At the siege of Augusta these men 
fought fiercely. Jackson himself led one of the ad- 
vance parties. After the surrender of the town, he 
was ordered to level the fortifications, and he was 
appointed commandant. He was afterwards ordered 
to take position midway between Augusta and Savan- 
nah. While he held this position, a conspiracy was 
formed in the infantry to kill him in his bed. A sol- 
dier named Davis, who waited in the commander's tent, 
suspected that something was wrong. So he mingled 
among the men, and applied many harsh epithets to 
Jackson. Thinking to make Davis useful to them, 
the conspirators told him their pkms, which he made 
haste to lay before his superior officer. Shortly after- 
wards the infantry were drawn up in line, and the ring- 
leaders in the conspiracy arrested, tried, and executed. 



88 

After the war the Legislature gave Davis a horse, 
saddle, and bridle, and five hundred acres of land, as 
a reward for his fidelity. 

Jackson was with General Wayne in his Georgia 
campaign, and was intrusted by him with many haz- 
ardous duties. When Savannah surrendered. General 
Wayne issued an order in which he said, ** Lieutenant 
Colonel Jackson, in consideration of his severe and 
fatiguing service in the advance, is to receive the key of 
Savannah, and is allowed to enter the western gate." 

In 1786, Jackson was made brigadier general, and had 
command of the forces operating against the Indians. 
Between 1788 and 1806 General Jackson held almost 
every high office within the gift of the people of the 
State, — member of the Legislature, governor when only 
thirty-one years old, member of the first Congress held 
under the Federal Constitution, member of the State 
Constitutional Convention, presidential elector, and 
United States senator. 

With General Jackson in many of his engagements 
was General Elijah Clarke, who in many respects was 
the most remarkable soldier that Georgia contributed to 
the War for Independence. With fairer opportunities 
than he had, he would have made a great commander. 
He had small knowledge of tactics, but he had what 
is better, — the skill to take advantage of quickly passing 
events, and the coolness that made him complete master 
of all his resources. He was a man of the most strik- 
ing characteristics, and he came out of the war with 
many bitter enemies among those with whom he came 
in contact. This feeling was perpetuated by the politi- 



89 

cal campaigns in which his son, John Clarke, took part 
after the war. A trace of this is to be seen in the 
sketch which Governor Gilmer gives to Elijah Clarke 
in his curious book entitled "Georgians." It is un- 
doubtedly true that Elijah Clarke was ignorant of what 
is called book knowledge, but he was not much worse 
off in this respect than the famous Confederate General 
Forrest, who is thought by some high military critics 
to have been the most remarkable commander on the 
Southern side in the civil war. Elijah Clarke, as well 
as General Forrest, had something that served them a 
better turn than a mere knowledge of books. They 
had a thorough knowledge of men, and a quick eye for 
the situations that follow each other so rapidly in a 
skirmish or battle. 

Elijah Clarke was born in North Carolina, but moved 
to Georgia in 1774. He was among the first of the 
inhabitants of Upper Georgia to take up the cause of 
American independence ; and his example, for he was 
a notable man even in private life, did much to solidify 
and strengthen those who leaned to that cause. When 
the British troops marched from the coast into Upper 
Georgia, Elijah thought the time had come to take his 
gun from the rack over the door, and make at least 
some show of resistance. His courage, and the firm- 
ness and decision of his character, made him the natural 
leader of those of his neighbors whose sympathies were 
with the Liberty Boys in other parts of the State, and 
he soon found himself a commander without commission 
or title. He cared less for these things than for the 
principles of liberty for which he was fighting. 



90 




For a while Elijah 
Clarke and his followers 
fought as partisan ran- 
gers, but he soon drew 
around him a compact 
and disciplined body of 
men who were ready to 
go wherever he might 
lead them. He did not 
confine his efforts to his 
new neighborhood. We 
hear of him with Howe's 
ill-fated expedition against 
East Florida, where, at 
Alligator Creek, he was 
asked to perform the im- 
possible feat of storming 
with a troop of horse a 
camp intrenched behind 
logs and brushwood. He 
was no doubt amazed at 
the stupidity of General 
Howe in issuing such an 



91 

order, but he attempted to carry it out with his usual 
courage. He did succeed in floundering over the logs 
with his troops, but he came to a ditch that was too 
wide for his horses to leap, and too deep to be ridden 
through. At this moment he and his men were saluted 
with a heavy fire from the enemy, and they were com- 
pelled to retire in confusion. In this attempt Elijah 
Clarke was shot through the thigh. Later he was in 
South Carolina, at Blackstocks, and at The Cowpens. 

In some quarters an effort has been made to blacken 
the reputation of General Clarke by comparing his 
treatment of the Tories with the mild and humane 
policy pursued by Francis Marion. There was, indeed, 
some misunderstanding between the two men in regard 
to the methods that might be adopted. The policy of 
Marion was undoubtedly the correct one, so far as 
South Carolina was concerned ; but if the Tories in 
that Province had been guilty of the crimes committed 
by their brethren in Wilkes and the surrounding region, 
General Marion's policy would not have been very differ- 
ent from that of General Clarke. The Tories with whom 
Clarke was familiar were guilty of murder, rapine, 
pillage, and incendiarism. The Tories in South Caro- 
lina were kept under by the presence of Marion and 
his men. Clarke went wherever his services were 
needed ; and during his absence, the Tories of the 
Broad River region were free to commit every excess. 
Marion refused to leave the region where he made his 
name famous, and thus kept the Tories in constant fear 
and dread. 

Who shall say that Marion would not have been 



92 

as ready to exterminate the Tories as Clarke was, or 
that Clarke would not have been as humane as Marion, 
if each of these distinguished patriots had been in the 
other's place? 

At the battle of Kettle Creek, in what is now Wilkes 
County, Elijah Clarke distinguished himself by his 
readiness and skill as a commander. The Americans 
under Colonel Pickens were in pursuit of the British 
under Colonel Boyd. Their line of march was the 
order of battle, and following the vanguard came the 
right and left wings. The left wing was commanded 
by Elijah Clarke. The center was led by Colonel 
Pickens, who was in command of the expedition. 
Colonel Boyd, the British commander, appeared to be 
unconscious of pursuit. He had halted on a farm on 
the north side of Kettle Creek. His horses were left to 
forage on the young cane that grew on the edge of the 
swamp ; and his men were slaying cattle and parching 
corn, preparing for a feast after their short rations. 
The British encampment was formed near the creek, 
on a piece of open ground flanked on two sides by a 
canebrake. Colonel Boyd was in utter ignorance of 
the approach of the Americans, who advanced at once 
to the attack. The British colonel formed his line in 
the rear of his encampment, and there received the 
assault. The battle was hotly contested for more than 
an hour, and then the Tories retreated through the 
swamp. 

Elijah Clarke, seeing a piece of rising ground on the 
farther side of the creek, on which he suspected the 
Loyalists would try to form, ordered the left wing to 



93 

follow him, and was about to cross the stream when his 
horse was shot under him. Mounting another, he soon 
crossed the creek, followed by not more than a fourth 
of his division. There had been some mistake in send- 
ing the order along the line. Clarke gained the hill 
that had attracted his eye just in time to attack Major 
Spurgen, a brave British officer, who was forming his 
command. The firing attracted the notice of the rest 
of Clarke's division, and they soon joined their leader. 
Pickens and Dooly also pressed through the swamp, 
and the battle was renewed with great vigor. For a 
while the result was in doubt, but at the end the Ameri- 
cans held the hill. The Tories fled in all directions, 
leaving seventy dead on the field, and seventy-five 
wounded and captured. Of the Americans, nine were 
slain, and twenty-three wounded. To Elijah Clarke 
must be given the credit for this victory, which, coming 
at the time it did, revived the hopes and courage of the 
Liberty Boys in all parts of the country. 

The Tories, on the other hand, were so depressed by 
it, that many of them left that part of the State, and 
those who remained became comparatively quiet. The 
situation was so encouraging, that many of the people 
of Georgia, who had been driven from their homes by 
the cruelty of the Tories, returned with their families. 
They were not long left in peace, however. The Brit- 
ish and the Tories had their active agents among the 
Creeks and Cherokees, urging these tribes to take up 
arms and attack the Americans. In view of this, Clarke 
was sent to guard the frontier forts. Then the Tories 
again began to pillage and devastate the Broad River 



94 

region. Some of the crimes they committed would 
have disgraced savages. Clarke's house was burned, 
and his family ordered to leave the State. Mrs. Clarke 
and her two daughters started on their perilous journey 
with nothing but a small pony of little value, and even 
this was taken from them before they had gone very 
far. This only served to renew the activity of Clarke 
in behalf of the American cause. He defeated the 
Tories wherever he met them ; and if he gave them no 
quarter, it was because they had shown no mercy to 
the Americans. The savage character of the warfare 
waged by the Tories against men, women, and children, 
must ever stand as an explanation and as an excuse for 
the fierce spirit displayed by Clarke and the Americans 
who lived in the Broad River region. 

In the battle near Musgrove's Mill, Clarke defeated 
the British, killing sixty-three men, and wounding and 
capturing one hundred. During the battle he was twice 
severely wounded on the head and neck ; and once he 
was surrounded by the enemy, captured, and placed in 
charge of two men. One of these he knocked down with 
a blow of his fist, and the other fled. At one time, act- 
ing without orders, he was near taking Augusta, and was 
only prevented by the desire of his men to see their fami- 
lies. After this he returned to Wilkes County, where he 
was compelled to take under his protection nearly four 
hundred women and children who had been driven from 
their homes by the savage Tories. He resolved to carry 
these to a place of safety, and, with a sufficient guard, 
set out for Kentucky. Cornwallis, hearing of this move- 
ment, and taking for granted that it was a retreat, sent 



95 

one hundred men under Captain Ferguson to cut Clarke 
off, the supposition being that the great partisan fightei 
would march through South Carolina, but he had re- 
crossed the mountains in the Piedmont region. Hear- 
ing of this movement, Clarke detached Major Chandler 
and Captain Johnston with thirty men to take part in 
the operations against Ferguson. Thus it was the pur- 
suit of Clarke that brought on the memorable battle of 
Kings Mountain, which resulted in a great victory for 
the cause of American independence ; and although 
Clarke was not there in person, his heroic spirit animated 
the brave men who won the day. 

He was the first to teach the militia to stand against 
the bayonets of the British ; and at Blackstocks, in South 
Carolina, at the head of his Wilkes riflemen, he charged 
and drove the British light infantry in an open field, — 
a movement that turned the enemy's right flank, and 
insured the victory of the Americans. At the siege of 
Augusta, Clarke had anticipated the movement of 
Colonel " Light Horse Harry " Lee, and had confined 
the British garrison to their works for weeks before 
Colonel Lee's arrival. 

At the close of the Revolution, Clarke led the move- 
ment against the Indians. He defeated the Creeks in 
the battle of Jacks Creek. After peace was declared, 
Clarke, who had been made a general by grateful 
State, settled on lands that had been reserved to the 
Indians. For this he has been criticised very severely ; 
but it is curious that the policy for which he was 
attacked, shortly afterwards became the policy of the 
whole people. The States and the United States have 



96 

made treaties with the Indians, only to break them. 
Having personal knowledge of the Indians, and having 
been made the victim of some of their raids, he had no 
respect for them or for their rights. To this view the 
whole country afterwards came, and the red men disap- 
peared before it. 

It will be well to bear in mind, that, whatever failings 
he may have had, there was not a more heroic figure in 
the Revolution than General Elijah Clarke. 



A WAR OF EXTERMINATION, 




OME of the bar- 
barous features 
of the Revolutionary War in 
Georgia have been briefly noted. History has turned 
her eyes away from the more horrible details ; but 
by reading between the lines, and taking advantage 
of the hints and suggestions, it is not hard to get 
a tolerably fair idea of the methods that were pur- 
sued on both sides. Even Colonel Charles C. Jones, 
jun., whose "History of Georgia" is thus far the most 
complete that has been written, touches lightly on the 
cruelties practiced in the efforts of the British and 

STO. OF GA. — 7 97 



98 

Tories to wrest Upper Georgia from the control of the 
Americans. There are matters that History cannot 
deal with and maintain her dignity. 

There can be no doubt that the British and the Tories 
began their cruelties without considering the results to 
which their acts would lead. It is an easy matter at 
this late day to see how naturally the war, in the region 
tributary to Augusta, degenerated into a series of crimes 
and barbarities foul enough to cause History to hold 
her hands before her eyes. When Colonel Campbell, 
assisted by Colonel Brown, advanced to attack Augusta, 
it was the only American post that had not surrendered 
to the King's men, and its capture would complete the 
subjugation of Georgia from a military point of view. 
The city fell without a struggle, and the American 
forces retreated across the river. It was natural that 
the British, and the Tories who were acting with them, 
should take advantage of this victory to bring the whole 
region above and around Augusta to terms. The sooner 
this was done, the sooner would all Georgia be restored 
to her relations with his Majesty George III. No time 
was to be lost. Therefore Colonel Campbell, the Brit- 
ish commander, tarried in Augusta but a few days. He 
left Colonel Brown in charge, and marched in the direc- 
tion of Wilkes County. Those of the inhabitants who 
had Tory sympathies were to be encouraged ; but those 
who were disaffected were to be dealt with summarily, 
so as to put an end, at once and forever, to the dis- 
loyalty that had been active in that region. This plan 
was carried out promptly and violently. The severest 
punishment was the portion of those who refused to 



99 

take the oath of allegiance. Plunder and the torch were 
the portions of those who chanced to be away from 
home, fighting for their country. Their helpless wives 
and children were left homeless, and destitute of provi- 
sions. Fortunately a great many stanch Liberty Boys 
had carried their families, their household effects, and 
their cattle, into South Carolina as soon as they heard 
of the fall of Augusta ; but many had remained at 
home, and the sufferings of these were severe. 

Another explanation of the extreme cruelty with 
which the war in Upper Georgia was waged after the 
fall of Augusta, was the fact that Colonel Brown, who 
had been left in command by Colonel Campbell, had 
some old scores to settle. At the very beginning of 
the struggle he had been arrested in Augusta by some 
of the Liberty Boys, tarred and feathered, and paraded 
through the public streets, on account of his outspoken 
loyalty to the King. Still another reason was the fact 
that Daniel McGirth, who had been maltreated by an 
American officer, was among the officers who had ac- 
companied Colonel Brown. McGirth held every Ameri- 
can responsible for the treatment he had received, and 
he spared few that fell into his hands. Thus, between 
the anxiety of the British to conquer Georgia com- 
pletely, and the desires of Brown and McGirth to 
revenge themselves, the Americans in Upper Georgia 
were made the victims of the most inhuman barbarities. 

The Americans under Elijah Clarke lost no time in 
retaliating, and thus was begun a contest that may be 
aptly described as a war of extermination. Clarke was 
enabled to defeat the British and the Tories wherever 



ICX) 

they opposed him on anything like equal terms, and 
this fact added to the rigor with which they treated the 
Americans who were so unfortunate as to fall into their 
hands. Shortly after the affair at Musgrove's Mill, in 
which Clarke defeated the British and the Tories, Lord 
Cornwallis addressed a circular letter to the officers 
commanding the advanced posts. He declared, ''The 
inhabitants of the Provinces who have subscribed to 
and taken part in this revolt shall be punished with 
the utmost rigor ; and also those who will not turn out 
shall be imprisoned, and their whole property taken 
from them or destroyed. I have ordered," he goes on 
to say, " in the most positive manner, that every militia- 
man who has borne arms with us, and afterwards 
joined the enemy, shall be immediately hanged. I 
desire you will take the most vigorous measures to 
punish the rebels in the district in which you command, 
and that you obey in the strictest manner the directions 
I have given in this letter relative to the inhabitants in 
this country." 

Here was authority broad enough to cover every 
crime that the British and the Tories might see fit 
to commit, and they stretched it to the utmost limit. 
They burned houses and destroyed property. They 
insulted and inhumanly treated women and children. 
They hanged the innocent. They went about the coun- 
try practicing every barbarity that their savage and 
bloodthirsty natures could suggest. It was no wonder 
that the Americans retaliated whenever they had the 
opportunity. It was no wonder that Elijah Clarke, nat- 
urally independent and irritable, should fail to see the 



lOI 

justice or necessity of treating the Tories he captured 
as prisoners of war. 

The situation of the Americans became so serious 
that Clarke determined to strike a heavy blow. He 
returned from Carolina to Wilkes County in September, 
1780, and in two days succeeded in placing in the field 
three hundred and fifty men. With this force, strength- 
ened by eighty men recruited in Carolina, he boldly 
marched on Augusta. The movement was so unex- 
pected, that, but for the fact that the advance guard 
fell in with an Indian camp which it was compelled to 
attack. Colonel Brown would have been taken com- 
pletely by surprise. But the retreating Indians gave 
him notice, and he took refuge with his command in a 
strong building known as the White House. The siege 
began on the 14th. By daylight on the i6th Clarke 
had succeeded in cutting the garrison off from its water 
supply. The sufferings of the men, especially the 
wounded, became most intense. The Americans could 
hear their cries for water and for medical aid. Brown 
appears to have been as brave as he was cruel. Though 
he was shot through both thighs, he remained at the 
head of his men ; and his great courage sustained the 
spirits of his followers. Clarke summoned him to sur- 
render on the 17th. He not only refused, but warned 
the American commander that the demonstration he 
was making against the King's men would bring de- 
struction to the western part of Georgia. 

Meanwhile some of Clarke's men had gone to visit 
their families, and others were more interested in secur- 
ing plunder than in forwarding the cause of independ- 



102 

ence. Colonel Brown, as soon as he heard of the 
approach of the Americans, had sent several messen- 
gers by different routes to inform Colonel Cruger of 
the state of affairs. Cruger, who was in Carolina at 
Ninety-six, promptly set his men in motion, and on 
the morning of the i8th appeared on the bank of the 
Savannah, opposite Augusta. Under the circumstances, 
Clarke was compelled to retreat. He had suffered a 
loss of sixty, killed and wounded. In retreating, he 
was compelled to leave twenty-nine of his wounded 
men behind. Among these was Captain Ashby, one 
of the bravest and most humane of the officers of the 
American army. This unfortunate officer and the men 
with him fell into the hands of the enemy. Colonel 
Brown was so severely wounded that he was unable 
to move about ; so he ordered Captain Ashby and 
twelve of the wounded prisoners to be hanged on the 
staircase of the White House, where he might see their 
sufferings and gloat over their agonies. These men 
were cruelly strangled before Brown's eyes. But their 
fate was a happy one compared with that of their 
wounded companions. Those men were turned over 
to the red savages, who were the allies of the British. 
The Indians received the prisoners w^ith howls of de- 
light, and began at once to torture them in every con- 
ceivable way. They formed a circle, and marched 
around the Americans, cutting and slashing them with 
their knives. The end of the unfortunates was most 
horrible. They were ripped with knives, scalped, and 
then burned. *No doubt, Colonel Brown enjoyed this 
scene more thoroughly than he did the tame and 



I03 

commonplace spectacle of strangling Captain Ashby 
and his companions. 

Before raising the siege, Elijah Clarke paroled the offi- 
cers and men whom he had captured, — fifty-six men, all 
told. This fact is mentioned to show that the Georgia 
militia had not then begun those acts of retaliation 
which have attracted the notice of historians. They 
had had, as we know, abundant provocation ; but after 
the horrible crimes perpetrated by Brown reached their 
ears, they threw off all restraint. Self-preservation is 
the first law of nature, and the men who acted with 
Elijah Clarke thought that the best way to preserve the 
lives of themselves and their families was to destroy the 
Tories as fast as they caught them. The fact is chron- 
icled by Colonel Jones, and it is worth noting, that the 
officers and men paroled by Clarke, in utter disregard 
of their obligations, took up their arms as soon as the 
Americans had departed. The probability is that they 
were driven to this by the commands of Brown. 

It is well known, that, as soon as Clarke and his 
men had retreated, Colonel Brown sent detachments of 
troops in all directions, with orders to arrest all persons 
who had taken part in the siege, or who had sympathized 
with the efforts of the Americans to recapture Augusta. 
Under this sweeping order, men of all ages and condi- 
tions were dragged from their homes and thrown into 
prison. Those who were suspected of taking part in 
the siege, or of belonging to Clarke's command, were 
seized and hanged out of hand. Old men, no longer 
able to bear arms, were imprisoned for welcoming the 
return of members of their families who had fought on 



I04 



the American side. One instance out of many that 
might be cited was the arrest of the father of Captains 
Samuel and James Alexander. In the seventy-eighth 




_^MtiT ^i-i'N';^ii.i^5-r' 



year of his age, this old man was arrested at his home, 
tied to the tail of a cart, and dragged forty miles in two 
days. When caught leaning against the cart to rest his 
feeble limbs, he was whipped by the driver. It was at 



105 

this time that in the region round about Augusta the 
hopes of the patriots grew very faint. The women and 
children assembled, and begged Elijah Clarke to take 
them out of the country ; and in response to the ap- 
peals of these defenseless ones, he undertook the move- 
ment that culminated in the glorious victory of Kings 
Mountain. 

The winter of 1780 was the darkest hour of the Rev- 
olution in Upper Georgia. There was no trade. Farm- 
ing was at a low ebb. The schoolhouses were closed. 
Many of the patriots had carried off their families. 
Many had gone with Elijah Clarke to Kentucky. The 
patriots had betaken themselves to South Carolina, 
though the services they rendered there have been 
slurred over by the historians of that State. 

When General Greene began his Southern campaign, 
and gradually rid South Carolina of the British and the 
Tory element, the patriots of Upper Georgia ventured 
to return to their homes. Captain McCall, who was 
among them, says, in his history, that they returned 
in parties of ten and twelve, so as to attract as little 
attention as possible. They appointed Dennis's Mill, on 
Little River, as a place of meeting. " When these small 
parties entered the settlements where they had formerly 
lived," says Captain McCall, ** general devastation was 
presented to view ; their aged fathers and their youth- 
ful brothers had been murdered ; their decrepit grand- 
fathers were incarcerated in prisons where most of them 
had been suffered to perish in filth, famine, or disease ; 
and their mothers, wives, sisters, and young children 
had been robbed, insulted, and abused, and were found 



1 06 

by them in temporary huts more resembling a savage 
camp than a civilized habitation." Though Captain 
McCall was an eyewitness of some of the scenes he 
describes, the picture he draws might seem to be too 
highly colored were it not supplemented by a great 
mass of evidence. One more instance out of many may 
be given. In a skirmish with the Americans under 
Colonel Harden, Brown captured several prisoners. 
Among them vv^as a youth only seventeen years old 
named Rannal McKay, the son of a widow who was a 
refugee from Darien. Being told that her son was a 
prisoner in the hands of Brown, Widow McKay, pro- 
viding herself with some refreshments that she thought 
might suit the taste of the British commander, went to 
Brown's headquarters, and begged that her son might 
be set free. The cruel wretch accepted the present she 
had brought him, but refused even to let her see her 
son, and caused the sentinels to put her out of the camp 
by force. Next day young McKay and four other pris- 
oners were taken out of the rail pen in which they had 
been confined. By Brown's order they were hanged 
upon a gallows until they were nearly strangled. They 
were then cut down and turned over to the tender 
mercies of the Indians, by whom they were mutilated, 
scalped, and finally murdered in the most savage 
manner. 

The cruelty of Colonel Brown and the Tories acting 
under him was so unbearable that the patriots of that 
region felt that their existence depended on the capture 
of Augusta. They decided on an aggressive movement 
when they met again at Dennis's Mill, on Little River. 



lO/ 

Colonel Clarke, who was suffering from the results of 
smallpox, was too feeble to lead them. His place was 
taken for the time by Lieutenant Colonel Micajah Wil- 
liamson ; and on the i6th of April, 1781, the Americans 
moved to the vicinity of Augusta. They were there 
reenforced by a detachment from southern Georgia 
under Colonel Baker, and by a number of recruits from 
Burke County. A few days afterwards they were 
joined by some Carolina militiamen under Colonel 
Hammond and Major Jackson. 

With this force, Colonel Williamson took up a posi- 
tion twelve hundred yards from the British works, and 
fortified his camp. The Americans were compelled to 
wait nearly a month for the aid they expected from 
General Greene. The militia, worn out with waiting 
for the reenforcements, were about to withdraw from 
the camp in despair, when Jackson, that truly great 
Georgian, made them an address full of the most pas- 
sionate and patriotic eloquence, and this appeal changed 
their purpose. Jackson's voice was afterwards heard in 
the halls of Congress ; but we may be sure that he was 
never more in earnest or more truly eloquent than when 
he pleaded with the faint-hearted Americans to stand to 
their cause and their arms. Jackson's address revived 
their courage; and when, on the 15th of May, Elijah 
Clarke rode into camj), restored to health and accom- 
panied by one hundred fresh recruits, the confidence of 
the militiamen was fully renewed. 

It was at this time that General Pickens and ** Light 
Horse Harry " Lee (the father of General Robert E. 
Lee) were ordered by General Greene to march on 



io8 

Augusta and capture that post. When Lee reached 
the neighborhood of Augusta, he learned, from a party 
of light horse which he had sent on ahead to collect 
prisoners and gain information, that the annual royal 
present intended for the Indians had arrived at Fort 
Galphin, some distance below Augusta. The present 
comprised blankets, liquor, salt, small arms, powder, 
and ball. There was a great lack of these articles in 
the American camp, and Lee resolved to capture them. 
The supplies were so valuable, that Brown, the British 
commander, had sent two companies from Augusta to 
garrison Fort Galphin. This was the situation when 
"Light Horse Harry" arrived on the ground. The 
British in Augusta had not yet discovered his approach, 
and promptness was necessary. Leaving Eaton's bat- 
talion, the artillery, and the footsore men of the legion, 
to follow more slowly, Lee mounted a detachment of 
infantry behind his dragoons, and made a forced march 
to Fort Galphin. 

This point he reached on the 21st of May, 1781. 
The weather was extremely hot, and for miles the 
troopers and their horses had been unable to find a 
drop of water : consequently neither the men nor the 
animals were in a condition to make the attack when 
the command was brought to a halt under the pines 
that skirted the field surrounding the fort. The British 
within the fort were resting quietly, and were not aware 
that an enemy was at hand. A prompt and decisive 
movement was necessary ; and when his men and 
horses had rested a little while, Lee dismounted the 
militiamen he had brought with him, and ordered them 



109 

to make a demonstration against the fort on the side 
opposite the position he had taken. This famous eom- 
mander reasoned, that, as soon as the miHtiamen ap- 
peared before the fort, the garrison would sally from 
the stockade. The militia would retreat, the garrison 
pursuing, and he would seize upon that moment to 
assault and capture the post left defenseless. To carry 
out this plan, Captain Rudolph (who was supposed to 
be Marshal Ney in disguise), with a detachment of 
picked infantry, was held in readiness to rush upon 
the fort ; while the rest of the troops, supported by the 
dragoons, were placed where they could shield the 
militia from the pursuit of the British. 

The affair took place just as Lee had foreseen. The 
garrison sallied out to the attack. The militia, before 
making a show of resistance, began a retreat. The 
garrison gave pursuit. Captain Rudolph dashed across 
the field, and captured the fort without any trouble. 
The end came, when the militia rallied, and the foot 
soldiers and dragoons closed around the soldiers of the 
garrison. During the engagement the Americans lost 
one man from sunstroke. The enemy lost only three 
or four men. The rest, together with the valuable 
.stores in the stockade, fell into the hands of the 
patriots. 

Following this successful affair, which was of more 
importance than it seems now to be, Lee formed a 
junction with General Pickens ; and these two then 
joined their forces with those of Clarke, who com- 
manded the Georgia militia, and the siege of Augusta 
began. The first movement was the capture of Fort 



no 

Grierson, so called in honor of the man who com- 
manded its garrison. Grierson, hard pressed, threw 
open the gates of the fort, and endeavored to escape. 
Thirty of his men wxre killed, and forty-five wounded 
and captured. Grierson was made a prisoner, but was 
killed by a Georgia rifleman. He was as cruel and 
vindictive as Brown himself. He was a monster who 
had made himself odious to the followers of Clarke. 
In his history. Captain McCall strongly hints that 
Grierson was shot by one of the sons of the aged 
Mr. Alexander, who had been made prisoner and 
drao:o:ed to Aus^usta tied to the tail of a cart. A 
reward was offered for information that would lead 
to the arrest of the man who shot Grierson, but the 
reward was never claimed. The whole army probably 
knew who had fired the fatal shot, and no doubt the 
commanders knew, but their knowledge was not official. 
No further notice was taken of the matter. 

The capture of Fort Grierson cheered the hearts of 
the besiegers, and gave them renewed courage. Fort 
Cornwallis was next invested. This stronghold was 
commanded by Colonel Brown himself, who was as bold 
as he was cruel. He was mean enough to expose to 
the American fire the aged Mr. Alexander and other 
unfortunate patriots who had long been held as pris- 
oners. Captain Samuel Alexander commanded one of 
the companies close to the fort, and could see and 
recognize his venerable father, who had been placed 
in an exposed position by Brown. 

It is not necessary to describe all the events of the 
siege. Brown held out as long as he could, but was 



Ill 

finally compelled to surrender. On the 5th of June, 
1 78 1, Brown, with three hundred men, marched out of 
Fort Cornwallis, and that stronghold was immediately 
taken possession of by Captain Rudolph. A strong- 
guard was detailed by the American commanders, to 
protect Brown from the just anger of the Georgia 
soldiers, under Clarke, Williamson, and Jackson. To 
insure his safety, he was carried to the quarters of 
"Light Horse Harry" Lee. The next day he and a 
few of his officers were paroled and sent down the 
river in charge of a party of infantry instructed to 
guard him. Ramsay, in his '* History of the Revolu- 
tion of South Carolina," says that Brown was recog- 
nized at Silver Bluff by Mrs. McKay, who thus ad- 
dressed him : '' Colonel Brown, in the late day of your 
prosperity I visited your camp, and on my knees sup- 
plicated for the life of my son ; but you were deaf to 
my entreaties. You hanged him, though a beardless 
youth, before my face. These eyes have seen him 
scalped by the savages under your immediate command, 
and for no better reason than that his name was 
McKay. As you are now prisoner to the leaders of 
my country, for the present I lay aside all thoughts 
of revenge ; but when you resume your sword, I will 
go five hundred miles to demand satisfaction at the 
point of it, for the murder of my son." The probability 
is that Mrs. McKay used no such stately language. 
No doubt she walked up to Brown, shook her finger 
in his face, and exclaimed, " You miserable villain ! 
I can't get at you now ; but if the day ever comes, 
I'll flay you alive for the murder of my poor boy." 



112 

The fall of Augusta v/as received with rejoicings by 
the patriots everywhere, and the British and the Tories 
were correspondingly depressed. Men who had been 
overawed by the cruelty of the Tories, now came out 
boldly for the cause of independence, and the forces 
of the Americans were rapidly strengthened. Prepara- 
tions were made for an aggressive campaign in Georgia 
by the Liberty Boys ; and in this purpose they had the 
active aid and sympathy of General Greene, whose skill 
and ability as a commander were not greater than the 
wisdom he displayed in dealing with the people. 

In January, 1782, General Greene ordered General 
Anthony Wayne to take charge of the campaign in 
Georgia. At the same time he wrote a letter to Gov- 
ernor Martin that displays better than any document 
now extant the sagacity and conservatism that were the 
basis of General Greene's character and the source of 
his great success as a commander. " I cannot help 
recommending to your Excellency," he wrote to the 
governor of Georgia, " to open a door for the disaffected 
in your State to come in, with particular exceptions. It 
is better to save than to destroy, especially when we 
are obliged to expose good men to destroy bad. It is 
always dangerous to push people to a state of despera- 
tion ; and the satisfaction of revenge has but a momen- 
tary existence, and is commonly succeeded by pity and 
remorse. The practice of plundering, which, I am told, 
has been too much indulged with you, is very destruc- 
tive to the morals and manners of the people. Habits 
and dispositions founded on this practice soon grow 
obstinate, and are difficult to restrain ; indeed, it is the 



113 

most direct way of undermining all government, and 
never fails to bring the laws into contempt, for people 
will not stop at the barriers which were first intended 
to bound them after having tasted the sweets of pos- 
sessing property by the easy mode of plunder. The 
preservation of morals and an encouragement to honest 
industry should be the first objects of government. 
Plundering is the destruction of both. I wish the cause 
of liberty may never be tarnished with inhumanity, nor 
the morals of people bartered in exchange for wealth." 

This letter was intended to put an end to the war of 
extermination that the Tories of Upper Georgia had 
begun, and to prevent the patriots from carrying out 
their plans of revenge. The letter did great good. It 
was turned over to the Legislature by the governor, 
and thus made public ; and its sentiments were taken 
to heart by hundreds who had suffered the most cruel 
wrongs at the hands of the Tories. General Greene's 
letter was also made the basis of two proclamations, 
both issued by the governor after conference with Gen- 
eral Wayne. One opened the door to disaffected 
Georgians who might desire to return to the ranks of 
the republicans, and the other was addressed to the 
Hessian troops who had already begun to sympathize 
with the Salzburghers at Ebenezer. Stevens, in his 
" History of Georgia," says that many citizens who had 
been compelled from various reasons to seek protection 
under the British Government, and who had even joined 
the armies of the enemy, took advantage of the proc- 
lamation which referred to them, returned to their 
State allegiance, and joined the forces of General 

STO. OF GA. — 8 



114 

Wayne, where they proved their sincerity by making 
the most zealous efforts to merit the pardon and protec- 
tion that had been promised them by the governor. 

After a briUiant campaign, lasting from January to 
July, 1782, General Wayne, assisted by Elijah Clarke, 
James Jackson, and other bold spirits who had never 
suffered the fires of liberty to go out in Georgia, cleared 
the State of the British. Savannah was occupied on 
the nth of July, the keys having been surrendered to 
James Jackson. This was the end of British rule in 
Georgia. 



A NEGRO PATRIOT. 



ALONG with • the emigrants 
from North Carolina who 
first settled Wilkes County, 
_=^,_, there cam^h a man named 
Aycock. , He brought 
with him\a mulatto boy 
named Austin. This boy 
passed as Aycock's slave ; 
but when the conflict be- 
tween the Liberty Boys 
and the Tories in that 
part of the country be- 
came desperate, — when 
the patriots were fighting 
for their lives as well 
as for the liberties of their country, — Aycock's neigh- 
bors called on him to do his part. According to 
all accounts, Aycock was not much of a warrior. His 
sympathies were with his liberty-loving neighbors ; but 
his enthusiasm did not invite him to expose himself to 
the hre of musketry. It is said that he joined the 
neighbors, and strove to be a faithful militiaman, but 
he was in a state of constant fear. Governor Gilmer 
says of Aycock, that, from the time he was required to 

"5 




ii6 

fight, he saw a terrible Tory constantly pointing a loaded 
gun at him. His alarm finally became so extreme that 
he offered as his substitute the mulatto boy Austin, who 
had then grow.i to be a stout and serviceable lad. 

Objection was made that Austin was a slave, and 
could not therefore be received as a soldier. At this, 
Aycock ackno\/ledged that Austin was no slave ; that, 
although he Vas a mulatto, he had been born free. 
This fact was made so clear to the patriots, that they 
willingly received Austin as a soldier, and he was mus- 
tered into the service under the name of Austin Dabney. 
He fought under Elijah Clarke, being under the com- 
mand of Colonel John Dooly, who was afterwards so 
foully murdered by the Tories. Of all the brave men 
that fought under the heroic Clarke, there was none 
braver than Austin Dabney, none that did better ser- 
vice. 

He was in the battle of Kettle Creek, and was fore- 
most among those who followed Clarke. Toward the 
close of this the bloodiest battle fought in Georgia be- 
tween the patriots and Tories, Austin Dabney was shot 
through the thigh, and so dangerously wounded that 
he became a cripple for life. He was taken by his 
comrades to the house of a Mr. Harris, where he was 
carefully nursed until his wound healed. He was not 
able to do military duty after that, but he devoted him- 
self to Harris and his family more faithfully than any 
slave could have done. It may be said of him that 
gratitude became the ruling passion of his heart. 

After the Americans had won their independence, 
and peace with it, Austin Dabney became prosperous. 



117 

Being a quick-witted man, with an instinct for business, 
he accumulated property. He finally moved to Madi- 
son County, taking with him his benefactor and family, 
to whose wants and desires he continued to minister 
with as much devotion as he displayed at the begin- 
ning of his service. It was in Madison County that 
Austin Dabney became noted for his fondness for horse- 
racing. He attended all the races in the neighboring 
counties. He was the owner of some of the finest race 
horses to be found in the country; and such was his 
popularity, that he always found prominent men to 
stand for him. 

Shortly after he removed to Madison County, he re- 
ceived a pension from the United States Government. 
He sent Harris's oldest son to school, and afterwards to 
college. When the young man graduated from Frank- 
lin College, now the State University, Austin Dabney 
supported him while he studied law with Hon. Stephen 
Upson at Lexington, Oglethorpe County. When young 
Harris was undergoing his examination for admission to 
the bar, Austin Dabney stood leaning against the rail- 
ing that inclosed the court, listening to the proceedings 
with great anxiety. When the young man was sworn 
in, and was shaking hands with the members of the bar, 
Austin, unable to control himself, burst into a flood of 
tears, happy that he had been able to make a gentleman 
of the son of the man who had nursed him so long and 
patiently while his wound was healing. 

When the ])ublic lands in Georgia were distributed 
among the people by lottery, the Legislature gave to 
Austin Dabney a lot of land in Walton County. The 



Ii8 

next year the voters of Madison County were in a 
condition bordering on distraction, being divided into 
Dabney and anti-Dabney parties. Austin had not been 
permitted to have a chance in the lottery with other 
soldiers of the Revolution. Consequently Stephen 
Upson, one of Georgia's most prominent men at that 
time, employed his influence with such effect that a law 
was passed giving Dabney a valuable lot. One of the 
members of the Legislature from Madison County voted 
for this law. At the next election the constituents of 
this member divided themselves into two parties, one 
faction indorsing the vote, and the other denouncing it. 
Those who denounced the vote did it on the ground that 
it was an indignity to white men for a mulatto to be put 
on an equality with them in the distribution of the public 
land, though, as Governor Gilmer bluntly puts it, not 
one of them had served his country so long or so well. 
Governor Gilmer, from whose writings all facts about 
Austin Dabney are taken, tells a very interesting anec- 
dote about him. In order to collect the pension which 
the United States Government allowed on account of 
his broken thigh, Austin went once a year to Savannah. 
Once when he was on his way to draw what was due him, 
he fell in with Colonel Wiley Pope, his neighbor, who was 
also journeying to Savannah. They were very intimate 
and social on the road, and until they found themselves 
in the streets of Savannah. When they reached the 
fashionable part of the city. Colonel Pope observed to 
his companion that he was a sensible man, and knew 
the prejudices that prevented them from associating 
together in the city. Austin Dabney replied that he 



119 

understood it very well, and with that he checked his 
horse and fell in the rear of Colonel Pope after the 
fashion of a servant following his master. Their way 
led them in front of the house of General James Jack- 
son, who was at that time governor of the State. The 
governor was standing in his door at the time. Colonel 
Pope passed on unrecognized, but, chancing to glance 
around, he saw Governor Jackson run from the house 
into the street to greet Austin Dabney. The governor 
seized the negro's hand, shook it heartily, drew him 
from his horse, and carried him into the house, where 
he remained a welcome guest during his stay in the 
city. Colonel Pope (so Governor Gilmer says) used to 
tell this story with great glee, but owned that he felt 
put out when he realized, that, whilst he was a stranger 
at a tavern, Austin Dabney was the honored guest of the 
governor of the State. The explanation was, that Gov- 
ernor Jackson had seen Dabney's courage and patriot- 
ism tested on the field of battle, and he knew that 
beneath the tawny skin of the mulatto there beat the 
heart of a true man. 

Austin Dabney was always popular with those who 
knew of his services in the Revolutionary War. Gov- 
ernor Gilmer says that he was one of the best chroni- 
clers of the stirring events of that period. His memory 
was retentive, his understanding good, and he had a 
gift of description possessed by few. He moved to 
the land the State had given him, taking with him the 
family of the man who had nursed him. He continued 
to serve them while he lived, faithful to the end, and 
when he died left them the property he had accumulated. 



THE YAZOO FRAUD. 

SOME writers on the early history of Georgia have 
been under the impression that the speculation 
known as the Yazoo Fraud had its beginning in the 
efforts of General Elijah Clarke and his followers to 
settle on the Indian reservation lying west of the Oconee 
River ; but this is not the case at all. General Clarke's 
movement was the result of an enterprise which was 
aimed against the Spaniards ; and, though the facts have 
no real connection with the Yazoo speculation, they 
may be briefly told here, especially since Stevens, in his 
"History of Georgia," turns them all topsy-turvy. 

Genet was the first envoy sent to represent the wild 
and revolutionary republic of France, — the republic of 
Robespierre and the Jacobins. He represented, as well 
as any man could, the ideas and purposes of those who 
had wrought such havoc in France. He was meddle- 
some, wrong-headed, unreasonable, and bold with it all. 
He sailed from France in a ship which he commanded 
himself ; and instead of going straight to Philadelphia 
(then the seat of government), where his business called 
him, he landed at Charleston in South Carolina. War 
was then pending between France and Spain ; and 
Genet, after landing in Charleston, found ready sym- 
pathizers in the French Huguenots of South Carolina, 

1 20 



121 

and indeed in all those who had fought for American 
liberty. There were two reasons why the fiery appeals 
of Genet to the people of Carolina to take up arms 
against Spain were received enthusiastically. One was, 
that the Spaniards in Florida had been at constant war 
with the people of Georgia and Carolina, and had com- 
mitted many crimes and depredations. The other was, 
that the people felt grateful to France for the aid she 
had given the American Colonies in their efforts to 
shake off the yoke of Great Britain. 

Genet's plan was to raise in this country an army 
large enough to seize the Spanish possessions in Florida, 
and to reconquer Louisiana. For the reasons stated. 
Genet found the people enthusiastic in favor of his 
enterprise. The enthusiasm was intense. It crossed 
the Savannah, and found General Elijah Clarke, with 
his strong nature and active sympathies, ready to 
embrace it. His military prestige in the South com- 
mended him to Genet as the man to lead the military 
enterprise against the Spanish settlements in the South. 
Accordingly he was given command of the army that 
was to be raised, and was made a major general in the 
French service with a pay of ten thousand dollars. 

Having secured a commander whose courage and 
resources in the field could be depended on. Genet went 
from Charleston to Philadelphia overland, stirring up 
sympathy for his enterprise and enlisting men. His 
success was greater than he had dreamed of. He found 
but one thing in his way, and that was the firmness and 
vigilance of George Washington. This great man set 
his face sternly against the project; but such was the 



122 

enthusiasm of the people, — artfully stirred by Genet, 
who was as accomplished as he was unscrupulous, — 
that a French party was formed. Genet took advan- 
tage of the formation of this party to arouse prejudice 
against Washington ; and such was his success, that 
John Adams-, who was afterwards President, says that 
there was a multitude of men in Philadelphia ready to 
drive Washington from the executive chair. 

A considerable army was raised, recruits reported to 
General Clarke from the Ohio River to the St. Mary's, 
and everything was ready for action. At that moment 
the heavy hand of Washington descended on the enter- 
prise. The recall of Genet was demanded, the French 
party went to pieces, the project collapsed, and Elijah 
Clarke was left without resources, surrounded by a con- 
siderable force of men who had come at his bidding to 
take part in the attack on the Spanish possessions. 
These men were on his hands, expecting the fulfillment 
of promises that had been made to them. What was to 
be done .'' It was at this critical period that the eyes of 
General Clarke turned to the Indian reservation west of 
the Oconee. He marched his men to these lands, and 
took possession. He, and those who engaged in the 
movement for settling the lands, had risked their lives 
for their country on a hundred battlefields. They 
thought that the lands that had been claimed by the 
King belonged to those who had conquered the King's 
armies. They were right in principle, but wrong in 
action. The lands that had belonged to the King now 
belonged to the people, not as individuals, but as a cor- 
porate body, — to the whole people represented by the 



123 

State government. These principles had not been 
made as clear by discussion in General Clarke's day as 
they have been made since. He engaged in no specu- 
lation. He boldly settled the lands, and was prepared 
to boldly hold his position. The settlement was made 
in 1794. On the 28th of July, Governor George Mat- 
thews issued a proclamation forbidding the settlement, 
and likewise directed one of the judges to issue a war- 
rant for the general's arrest. At the Superior Court of 
Wilkes County, Clarke surrendered himself to the 
judge, who referred the case to the county justices. 
These judges made a decision, setting forth the fact 
that Elijah Clarke had surrendered himself into cus- 
tody; that, being desirous to do speedy justice to the 
State as well as to the party charged, they had pro- 
ceeded to maturely consider the case ; and that after ex- 
amining the laws of the State, and the treaties made and 
laws passed by the United States, they gave it as their 
** decided and unanimous opinion that the said Elijah 
Clarke be and is hereby discharged." Encouraged 
by this decision, General Clarke returned to his settle- 
ment with the intention of holding the lands ; but finally 
both the Federal and the State governments moved 
against him, and he abandoned the enterprise. The pol- 
icy that Clarke began in settling the Indian lands with- 
out regard to the rights of the savage has since become 
the policy of the government. It is not a wholesome 
policy, nor is it authorized by the moral or civil law ; 
but it has been unblushingly carried out nevertheless. 

The Yazoo Fraud was a far different matter. The 
very name of it was foreign to Georgia. It was bor- 



124 

rowed from the Indian name of a small stream which 
empties itself into the Mississippi River. When the 
Colony of Georgia was first settled, the land granted to 
Oglethorpe was described as lying along the Savannah 
River, extending southward along the coast to the 
Altamaha, and from the head waters of these rivers west- 
ward to "the South Seas." Afterwards Great Britain 
changed the line which he had established. She carried 
the boundary line of West Florida, a part of her pos- 
sessions, higher up. The new line started from the Mis- 
sissippi at the mouth of the Yazoo River, and ran due 
east to the Chattahoochee at a point near where the town 
of West Point now stands. As the upper boundary of 
British West Florida this line came to be known as 
the Yazoo line, and the country above and below it to 
an indefinite extent came to be known as the Yazoo 
country. No boundary can now be fixed to the region 
then known as the Yazoo country. At the close of 
the Revolutionary War, Great Britain made a treaty 
which has been interpreted as vesting in the United 
States and in Georgia the right and title to these lands, 
reaching from the Chattahoochee to the Yazoo River, 
and extending on each side of this line to a distance 
that has never been estimated. 

The Yazoo Fraud itself had a somewhat vague begin- 
ning. From the best information that can now be ob- 
tained, it may be said that it was set on foot in 1789, 
shortly after the close of the Revolution, by a sharper 
who was famous in that day. He was known as 
Thomas Washington, but his real name was Walsh. 
Washington, or Walsh, is described as being a very 



125 

extraordinary man. He had fought in the service of 
Georgia, but he had the instinct of a speculator ; and 
when the war was ended, he gave himself up to the 
devices of those who earn their living by their wits. 
He was a man of good address, and his air of candor 
succeeded in deceiving all whom he met. Those who 
dealt with him always had the worst of the bargain. 

When Washington, or Walsh, began to operate in 
Georgia through agents, he found the way already 
prepared for him. The War for Independence had 
barely closed, when certain individuals, most of them 
men of some influence, began to look on our Western 
possessions with a greedy eye. They had an idea 
of securing these lands and setting up a new govern- 
ment, — a sort of Western empire. To further their 
designs they began by forming themselves into an 
association called the ''Combined Society," the mem- 
bers of which were bound to secrecy by oaths and 
other solemn pledges. The purpose of the Combined 
Society became known, and the force of public opinion 
compelled the members to disband. Some of them 
were men of aristocratic pretensions. 

Thus Washington, or Walsh, found a great many 
sympathetic people in Georgia. He was too well known 
in the State to undertake any scheme to which his 
name was attached : so he worked through an agent, 
a man named Sullivan. This man Sullivan had been 
a captain in the patriot army ; but he had headed the 
Philadelphia mob which insulted Congress, and he was 
compelled to flee to the Mississippi to save his neck. 
When the old Congress went out, Sullivan felt free to 



126 

return. He came to Georgia, representing, or pretend- 
ing to represent, the Virginia Yazoo Company, of 
which the celebrated Patrick Henry was a member, 
and made application to the State Legislature for the 
purchase of the Western lands. Sullivan's description 
of the Yazoo lands was so glowing that another com- 
pany was formed in Georgia. Some of the members of 
the new company formerly belonged to the Combined 
Society, but others were men of good standing. This 
company employed active agents ; but no corrupt means 
were used so far as is now known, though some mem- 
bers of the General Assembly were interested. The 
efforts of the company were successful. Their act was 
passed, and the sale made. Immediately the people 
began to oppose the scheme, and to demand the repeal 
of the act. The demand grew into a State issue, and the 
new Legislature declared the sale null and void. 

For a while the land grabbers were quiet ; but in 1 794 
it seemed to the most eager of the speculators that the 
time had come for them to make another effort to 
secure the rich Western lands that belonged to the State. 
They were evidently afraid, that, unless they made 
haste to get hold of the lands, the people's Legislature 
would divide them out or sell them to the Federal 
Government. So they formed another conspiracy, and 
this time they laid their plans very deep. Acting on 
the principle that every man has his price, they 
managed, by bribery and other underhanded schemes, 
to win the sympathy and support of some of the most 
prominent men in the State, — men whose names 
seemed to be far above suspicion. Some of the highest 



12/ 



judges lent their aid to the land grabbers. Members 
of Congress were concerned in the 
scheme. Generals and other high offi- 
cers of the militia took part in it. 
Nothing was left undone that was 
calculated to win the support of men 
who, up to that time, had enjoyed and 
deserved the confidence and respect 
of the State. The extent of the bribery 
and corruption that existed would be 
altogether beyond belief if the 
records were not left to show it. 
were both bold 




and in one 
other sought 
support of all 
men of the 
they came very ]^ 
ing. 

The Legis- 




The swindlers 
and cunning, 
way or an- 
to win the 
the leading 
State. And 
near succeed- 



lature held its 
session in Augusta at that 
time ; and while the Yazoo 
>/A land sale was up for discus- 
sion, the agents of the land 
grabbers swarmed around it, 
coaxing, bribing, and bullying 
the people's representatives. 
Among these agents was a 
judge of the Supreme Court 
of the United States, from 
Pennsylvania, with twenty-five thousand dollars in his 




128 

hands. There was a judge of the United States Dis- 
trict Court for Georgia, paying shares in the land 
company for the votes of members. A United States 
senator from Georgia, James Gunn, who had neglected 
to return to his post of duty in Congress, was seen 
bullying members with a loaded whip, to secure their 
support for the land-sale scheme. A judge of the 
State courts was also present, with other prominent 
citizens, buttonholing the members of the Legislature, 
offering them shares, sub-shares, and half sub-shares to 
secure their votes. General James Jackson, who was 
then a United States senator from Georgia, was told by 
a prominent judge of the State that he might have 
any number of acres he pleased up to half a million, 
without the payment of a dollar, if he would use his 
influence in behalf of the corrupt schemes of the land 
grabbers. In reply. General Jackson said he had 
fought for the people of Georgia ; that the land be- 
longed to them and to their children ; and that, should 
the conspirators succeed, he, for one, would hold the 
sale to be void. Many weak men in the Legislature 
were intimidated by threats ; and some who could not 
be persuaded to vote for the sale, were paid to go 
home, and remain away from the Legislature. 

In this way the representatives of the people were 
persuaded and bribed to support the scheme of the 
land grabbers. In 1795 the bill was passed, selling 
to four companies — the Georgia Company, the Georgia 
Mississippi Company, the Upper Mississippi Company, 
and the Tennessee Company — thirty-five million acres 
of land for ;^50o,ooo. Nothing was now wanting to 



129 

complete the fraud but the signature of the governor. 
If he put his name to the bill, it became a law. If he 
refused to sign it, the scheme of the swindlers would 
fail. General George Matthews was the governor at 
that time, and, though two of his sons had been made 
members of the land-grabbing companies, it was hoped 
that he would refuse to sign the bill. The hope was 
justified by the fact that he had refused to sign a 
similar bill, and had given some very good reasons for 
it. It was known, too, that he was a man of great 
courage, and honest in his intentions ; but the influence 
brought to bear on him was too great. His judgment 
was weakened by the clamor of the prominent men 
around him, who had become the paid agents of the 
swindlers. He resisted for some time, but finally 
agreed to sign the bill. The secretary of Governor 
Matthews, a man named Urquhart, tried to prevent 
the signing of the bill by working on the governor's 
superstitions. He dipped the pen in oil, thinking 
that when Matthews came to write with it, and found 
that the ink refused to flow, he would take it as an 
omen that the bill should not be signed. The governor 
was startled, when, after several efforts, he found the 
pen would not write ; but he was not a man to let so 
trifling a matter stand in his way. He directed his 
secretary to make another pen, and with this he made 
the land-steal bill a law. By a stroke he made the bill 
a law, and also signed away his own popularity and 
influence. The people of Georgia never trusted him 
afterwards ; and he left the State, finding it unpleasant 
and uncomfortable to live among those who had lost 

STO. OF GA. — 9 



130 

their respect for him. Yet no charge of corruption was 
ever made against him. 

When the people learned that the Yazoo Fraud had 
become a law, they rose up as one man to denounce it. 
Those who lived in the neighborhood of Augusta deter- 
mined to put to death the men who had betrayed them. 
They marched to the legislative halls, and were only 
prevented from carrying out their threats by the per- 
suasion of the small minority of the members that had 
refused to be coaxed, bullied, or bribed into voting for 
the Yazoo Fraud. But the indignation of the people 
continued to grow as they learned of the corrupt 
methods that had been employed to pass the measure. 
Meetings were held in every county ; and public 
opinion became so strong that those who had voted 
for the Yazoo Fraud found it dangerous to remain 
in the State. A senator from Hancock County be- 
came so alarmed that he fled to South Carolina. He 
was followed by one of his neighbors, found in a lonely 
cabin at night, and shot to death. Except in one or 
two counties, the men who voted for the Yazoo Fraud 
were compelled to hide themselves until the anger of 
the people had cooled. 

In his " Sketches of the First Settlers of Upper 
Georgia," Governor George R. Gilmer tells a little 
story that will serve to show the state of feeling in 
Georgia at that time. After the Yazoo Fraud was 
passed, the people of the counties held indignation 
meetings. A meeting was called in Oglethorpe County, 
and on the morning of the day, a citizen on his way to 
town stopped at the gate of a neighbor to wait until he 



131 



couid get ready to go. The man who was getting 
ready was named Miles Jennings. The citizen, wait- 
ing, saw Mr. Jennings put a rope in his pocket. 

"What is that for ? " the citizen asked. 

'* To hang Musgrove ! " repUed Mr. Jennings, Mus- 
grove being the name of the member of the Legis- 
lature. 

When the two neighbors arrived at the courthouse, 
all the people had assem- 
bled. Mr. Jennings hitched 
his horse, went into the 
crowd, pulled the rope 
from his pocket, and, 
holding it above his 
head where all could 
see it, cried out, — 

** Neighbors ! this 
rope is to hang Mus- 
grove, who sold the 
people's land for a 
bribe ! " 

The words of Jen- 
nings and the sight of the rope made the people 
furious. Musgrove had been given a hint by Jennings's 
neighbor, and he had made good his escape. But for 
that, no human power could have saved him. 

The whole State was in a condition of excitement 
that is hard to describe. Grand juries made present- 
ments, county and town meetings passed resolutions, 
and petitions were sent from hand to hand, and signed 
by hundreds of people. A State convention, called to 




132 

alter the constitution, had been chosen to meet in May, 
1795, but the members had been chosen at the same 
time that the members of the corrupt Legislature had 
been elected; and a majority of them had been "tarred 
with the same stick," as the saying goes. The present- 
ments, resolutions, and petitions crowded so fast upon 
the convention, that it was decided to postpone the 
changing of the constitution to a time when the people 
were in a better humor. The convention referred all 
the papers it had received to the next Legislature, and 
adjourned in some confusion. 

This added to the excitement and anger of the peo- 
ple. They were in doubt how to act. Delay would 
give the land grabbers time to sell the lands they had 
secured through bribery and corruption. But whom 
could the people trust ^ They had been betrayed by 
many of their highest judges, by one of their United 
States senators, and by a large majority of their Legis- 
lature. A great many believed that all the powers of 
government had come to an end. 

During the troubled times of the Revolution it had 
been the custom of military officers having the confi- 
dence of the people to convene the Legislative Assembly 
when an emergency seemed to call for it. In the midst 
of their doubt and confusion, the people applied to Gen- 
eral Twiggs, the senior major general, to convene the 
Legislature in order that action might be taken before 
the swindlers sold the lands they had obtained by fraud ; 
but General Twiggs refused to act in a case in which he 
had no clear right and power, so the people remained 
for the time being without a remedy. 



133 

From the very beginning of this scheme to defraud 
the people of the State, it had been bitterly opposed by 
General James Jackson, who was representing Georgia 
in the United States Senate. He denounced it in the 
Senate. He corresponded with the most eminent men 
in the State, he wrote to the newspapers, and in every 
possible way held up to the scorn and contempt of the 
public the men who were trying to defraud the State of 
its rich Western lands. On the other hand, the con- 
spirators left nothing undone to injure the reputation 
of General Jackson. His character was attacked, and 
his life was several times threatened. As early as the 
spring of 1795, he took occasion in full Senate, and in 
the presenife of General James Gunn (the Georgia sen- 
ator who was representing the swindlers), to denounce 
the scheme as " a speculation of the darkest character 
and of deliberate villany." 

By his bold, even violent opposition to the Yazoo 
sale. General Jackson had made himself the leader of 
the people. Therefore in 1795, while he was still sen- 
ator, many of the people requested him to resign, so 
that he might use his influence and great talents in 
bringing about the repeal of the obnoxious law. He 
tendered his resignation at once, and returned home. 
He was elected a member of the Legislature, and de- 
voted all his time and all his energy to blotting out the 
odious law. He became a member of the committee 
appointed to investigate the means used to pass the 
law, and under his leadership the whole scandalous 
affair was probed to the bottom. 

In electing the new Legislature, the only issue was 



134 

Yazoo and anti-Yazoo. The people were successful in 
electing men who favored the repeal of the law. There 
was no other business before the General Assembly 
until this matter was disposed of. The body was 
flooded with the petitions and remonstrances that had 
been sent to the convention. The Legislature had met 
in January, 1795. At once a day was set to "consider 
the state of the Republic." On that day the petitions 
and presentments were considered, and referred to a 
committee, of which General Jackson was appointed 
chairman. On the 22d of January the committee re- 
ported not only that the act was unconstitutional, but 
that fraud had been practiced to secure its passage. On 
these grounds they declared that the act was a nullity, 
and not binding on the people of the State. 

The bill declaring the sale void was drawn up by 
General Jackson. It passed both Houses by large 
majorities, and was signed by Governor Irwin. The 
feeling of the Legislature was so strong, that, after the 
Yazoo act had been repealed, it was decided to destroy 
all the records and documents relating to the corruption. 
By order of the two Houses a fire was kindled in the 
public square of Louisville, which was then the capital. 
The enrolled act that had been secured by fraud was 
brought out by the secretary of state, and by him deliv- 
ered to the President of the Senate for examination. 
That officer delivered the act to the Speaker of the 
House. The Speaker in turn passed it to the clerk, 
who read the title of the act and the other records, and 
then, committing them to the flames, cried out in a loud 
voice, " God save the State and preserve her rights, and 



^35 

may every attempt to injure them perish as these wicked 
and corrupt acts now do ! " 

The flames in which the records were burned were 
kindled by means of a sun glass, so that it might be 
truly said that fire came down from heaven to destroy 
the evidences of corruption. There is a tradition that 
when the officers of the State had met to destroy the 
records, an old man, a stranger to all present, rode 
through the multitude, and made his way to where the 
officials stood. Lifting up his voice, he declared, that, 
feeble as he was, he had come there to see an act of 
justice performed, but he thought the fire in which the 
records of corruption were to be destroyed should come 
from heaven. The people watched him in silence. He 
drew from his bosom with trembling hands a sun glass, 
and in this way burned the papers. Then, says tradi- 
tion, the white-haired old man mounted his horse and 
rode away, and was never seen again. 



GEORGE MATTHEWS AND JOHN CLARKE. 




IN giving the history of the Yazoo Fraud, mention 
has been made of General George Matthews, who 
was governor at the time, and who was compelled to 
leave the State because he had been persuaded to sign 
the bill. General Matthews was one of the most 
remarkable characters of his time. Governor Gilmer 
has drawn a very interesting portrait of him. It is not 
a pleasing picture in some respects, but it gives a very 

1^6 



137 

interesting glimpse of a man who in his day was one 
of the strongest characters in the State. 

He was the son of an Irishman named John 
Matthews, who settled in western Virginia in 1737. 
George Matthews began to fight the Indians at an age 
when most boys are at school. In 1761 the Indians 
attacked and murdered a family not far from his 
father's home. He heard the guns, and thought that 
a shooting match was going on. With some compan- 
ions of his own age, he rode forward to join in the 
sport ; but the youngsters saw the dead bodies of their 
neighbors lying in the yard where they had been left 
by the murderous savages, and at once turned their 
horses' heads and fled. They were not a moment too 
soon ; for the Indians, who had been lying in ambush, 
rose and fired at the boys. Matthews had a narrow 
escape ; for a bullet cut off the wisp of hair (known as 
a queue) that hung dangling from the back of his head. 
The danger that he had passed through, and the sight 
of his murdered neighbors, roused young Matthews to 
action. He collected a party of men, put himself at 
the head of them, followed and overtook the savages, 
and killed nine of their number. 

In the greatest battle that ever took place between 
the Virginians and the Indians, Matthews commanded 
a company, and bore a very conspicuous part. The 
battle took place at the junction of the Ohio River with 
the Kanawha, on what was called Point Pleasant. The 
fight began at sunrise, and was kept up all day, with no 
great success on either side. Th: Indians held their 
ground, and refused to givo way before the most 



138 

stubborn attacks of the Virginians. Near sundown, 
Matthews, with two other captains, made a strategic 
movement. The three companies were withdrawn 
from the battle. Out of sight of the enemy, they got 
into the bed of a creek. Hidden by the banks of the 
stream, they marched to the rear of the Indians, and 
from this point made an attack. The movement had 
been so cleverly carried out, that the savages were 
taken completely by surprise, and driven across the 
Ohio. 

Early in the Revolutionary War, General Washington, 
who knew well the value of the training Matthews had 
received on the frontier, ordered him and the regiment 
which he commanded to join the main army. He took 
part in the battle of the Brandywine ; and at the battle 
of Germantown he led his regiment against the British 
opposing him, drove them back, and pushed on to the 
center of the town, where he captured a regiment of the 
enemy. Shortly after this, while engaged in a skirmish, 
his courage led him too close to the British. He was 
knocked down, severely wounded by a bayonet thrust, 
and taken prisoner. He was sent to the British prison 
ship in New York Harbor. He was there treated with 
so much cruelty that he appealed to his government for 
relief. In response to that appeal, Thomas Jefferson, 
who was then governor of Virginia, wrote him a per- 
sonal letter, in which he said, " We know that the 
ardent spirit and hatred of tyranny which brought you 
into your present situation will enable you to bear up 
against it with the firmness which has distinguished 
you as a soldier, and look forward with pleasure to the 



139 

day when events shall take place against which the 
wounded spirit of your enemies will find no comfort, 
even from reflections on the most refined of the 
cruelties with which they have glutted themselves." 

.General Matthews was not exchanged until the close 
of the war. He then joined the Southern army under 
General Greene, and commanded the Third Virginia 
Regiment. While in the South, he bought a tract of 
land on Broad River, known as the Goose Pond. He set- 
tled there with his family in 1784. The fame he had 
won as a soldier made General Matthews at that time 
the principal man in Georgia. He was elected governor 
in 1786. When his term expired, he was sent to 
Congress. In 1794-95 he was again made governor; 
and it was at this time, that, contrary to all expecta- 
tions, he was prevailed on to sign the Yazoo Act. No 
charge of corruption was ever made against him. No 
thief or swindler was ever bold enough to try to bribe 
such a high-spirited and fearless man. But excitement 
in the State ran so high, that General Matthews was 
ruined so far as his influence wa^ concerned. He left 
Georgia, and never afterwards made the State his home 
for any long period. 

In 181 1 a lot of runaway negroes, ruffians, and 
lawless men congregated in Florida in such numbers 
that they were able to get control of affairs. They 
formed a government of their own, and then petitioned 
the United States to make Florida one of their terri- 
tories. President Madison appointed General Mat- 
thews the agent of the United States to negotiate with 
the " constituted authorities " for the annexation of 



140 

Florida. General Matthews made a treaty with those 
who were in control of Florida ; but Spain protested, 
and the President finally declared that the treaty had 
not been made with the ** constituted authorities." 

General Matthews was not a learned man (he knew 
nothing of books), and he could not understand the fuss 
that was made over the term " constituted authorities." 
He became very angry with the President, said that 
that officer had a cowardly fear of Spain and Great 
Britain, and declared that he would go to Washington 
to "thrash" the President. He actually set out on 
that errand ; but the fatigue and exposure which he 
had experienced in Florida, and the high state of 
excitement under which he labored, threw him into 
a fever while he was on his journey to Washington, 
and he died in Augusta in March, 1812. 

Previous to his Florida appointment. General Mat- 
thews had been nominated to be governor of the 
Territory of Mississippi by President Adams ; but the 
opposition was so great that the President withdrew 
the nomxination. When General Matthews heard of 
this, he promptly set out for Philadelphia to call the 
President to account. He rode to Mr. Adams's house, 
gave a loud knock on the door, and told the servant 
he wished to see the President. The servant said the 
President was engaged ; but General Matthews bristled 
with anger at the bare thought that any man, even the 
President, could be engaged in any business more im- 
portant than talking to George Matthews, late colonel 
of the Virginia line, and governor of the State of 
Georgia. Therefore he told the servant to go at once 



M 



and tell the President that a gentleman wished to speak 
to him ; and he added, that, if the message was not 
carried at once, the servant would find his head taken 
from his shoulders. General Matthews wore his Revo- 
lutionary sword and cocked hat, and he succeeded in 
convincing the servant that he was not to be trifled 
with. He was promptly admitted into the presence 
of Mr. Adams, and, with the touch of 
Irish brogue he had caught from his 
father, he made himself and his busi- 
ness known. He introduced him- 
self, and then said to the President, — 

" Now, sir, I understand that you 
nominated me to the Senate of 
these United States, to be governor 
of the Territory of Mississippi, and 
that afterwards you took back the 
nomination. Sir, if you had 
known me, you would not have 
taken the nomination back. ^ If 
you did not know me, you should 
not have nominated me to so im- 
portant an office. Now, sir, unless 
you can satisfy me, your station as President of these 
United States shall not screen you from my vengeance." 

Mr. Adams at once made himself agreeable, for he 
had nothing but good will for the stanch Georgia 
Federalist. The outcome of the meeting was that 
the President promised to appoint the general's son 
John to be supervisor of the revenue, and this promise 
he carried out. 




142 

Governor Gilmer, in his racy reminiscences of the 
people who settled in the Broad River region, draws an 
interesting portrait of General Matthews. He describes 
him as a short, thick man, with stout legs, on which 
he stood very straight. '* He carried his head rather 
thrown back. His features were full and bluff, his hair 
light red, and his complexion fair and florid. He ad- 
mitted no superior but General Washington. He spoke 
of his services to his country as unsurpassed except by 
those of his great chief. He wore a three-cornered 
cocked hat, top boots, a shirt full ruffled at the bosom 
and wrists, and sometimes a long sword at his side. 
To listen to his talk about himself, his children, and his 
affairs, one would have thought that he was but a puff 
of wind. Trade or talk of history with him, and he was 
found to be one of the shrewdest of men. Fight with 
him, and he never failed to act the hero. He was un- 
learned. He spelled * coffee ' k-a-u-g-h-p-h-y. He 
wrote / Congress ' with a iT." 

When it is considered that he had small opportunity 
to train himself in any direction except rough fighting, 
General Matthews must be regarded as one of the most 
remarkable men of his time. 

Another remarkable man who figured largely in both 
the military and political history of the State was Gen- 
eral John Clarke, son of the famous Elijah Clarke. John 
Clarke became a soldier in the Revolutionary War when 
a mere boy. He had followed his father to camp, and 
remained with him. He took part in many skirmishes ; 
but at the battle of Kettle Creek, in Wilkes County, he 
distinguished himself by his coolness and courage. He 



143 

fought through the war. He was made a lieutenant at 
sixteen years of age, and when the war ended he was a 
major. After the war he was made a brigadier, and 
then a major general of the militia. After aiding to 
run the British out of the State, and subduing the 
Tories, General Clarke turned his attention to the 
Indians. At the battle of Jacks Creek, in Walton 
County, in 1787, he greatly distinguished himself, hav- 
ing charge of one of the wings of the Georgia forces. 

It was natural that a man raised in camp, and brought 
up in the midst of the rough and tough elements that 
are collected together there, should possess qualities not 
calculated to fit him for the polite transactions that take 
place in drawing rooms and parlors. General Clarke's 
self-reliance was extreme. Having commanded men 
from the time he was sixteen, it was natural that his 
temper and his manners should be offensive, to some 
extent, to those who were not thoughtful enough to make 
due allowance for these things. It thus happened that 
when peace came, John Clarke's methods and prac- 
tices made him many bitter enemies. On the other 
hand, the sterling qualities of his character made him 
.many strong friends. 

Coming out of the war with neither trade nor pro- 
fession, and with only the rudiments of an education, 
John Clarke was compelled to turn his attention to 
politics. With him politics was simply a modified form 
of war. He had never given any quarter to the Tories, 
and he gave small quarter to his political enemies. But 
he was as faithful to his friends in joolitics as he had 
been to the cause of American liberty. lie was un- 



144 

compromising, whether deahng with friends or enemies, 
and his temper was such that he regarded his opponents 
as his personal enemies. Of his poUtical career, men- 
tion will be made in another place. It is sufficient to 
say that a quarrel he had with a judge divided the 
people of the State into two parties, and the contest 
between them was carried on for several years. The 
prejudices that sprang up in that contest lasted for 
more than a generation, and strong traces of them are 
to be found in estimates of General Clarke's character 
written long after he was dead. 

Only a man of the strongest character, and possessing 
the most remarkable qualities, could have made such a 
marked impression on the political history of a common- 
wealth. 



AFTER THE REVOLUTION. 




T 



HE Revolution 
came to an end 
in Georgia when, on 
the nth of July, 1782, 
Savannah was taken 
possession of by the 
American troops 
under General An- 
thony Wayne. It 
ended for the whole 
country when, on the 
^^sr:: 30th of November of the 

same year, the treaty of 
peace was signed at Paris between 
the United States and Great Britain. The King of 
Great Britain acknowledged the independence of the 
Thirteen States, and declared them free and sovereis-n 
This was a very happy event for the country, and had 
been long looked forward to by the people, sometimes 
doubtfully, but always hopefully. 

But the great victory that had been won found the 

people of Georgia prostrate. The little property that 

they possessed when the war began had either been 

spent in maintaining the struggle, or well-nigh de- 

STo. OF (;a. — 10 145 



146 

stroyed by the raids of the British and Tories. In the 
larger communities of Savannah and Augusta, the citi- 
zens had the resources of trade and commerce to fall 
back on, but in the smaller settlements and rural dis- 
tricts the condition of the inhabitants bordered on 
destitution. 

At the time that Savannah was surrendered to the 
American troops, there was almost a famine in the 
land. The soldiers were without shoes, and sometimes 
they were without supplies. The crops were short on 
account of the lack of farmers. The condition of the 
people was quite as bad as that of the troops, especially 
when the disbanded militia returned to their homes. 
Houses, barns, and fences had been burned ; stock 
and cattle had been slaughtered or driven away ; and 
there was a great lack of even the necessities of life. 

But those whose energy and spirit upheld them 
through the long struggle for independence were not 
the men to surrender to the hard circumstances that 
surrounded them. They went to work as bravely as 
they had fought ; and the sacrifices they made to peace 
were almost as severe, though not so bloody, as those 
they had made to war. Slowly, but surely and steadily, 
they reclaimed their waste farms. Slowly, but sureb 
and steadily, they recovered from the prostration that 
the war had brought on their industries. Slowly, bu 
surely and steadily, the people worked their way back 
to comparative prosperity. There may have been a 
few drones in the towns, but there were no idle hands 
in the country places. 

The men built for their families comfortable log 



147 

cabins ; and these, with their clean sanded floors, are 
still the fashion in some parts of Georgia. This done, 
they went about the business of raising crops, and 
stocking their farms with cattle. The women and 
children were just as busy. In every cabin could be 
heard the hum of the spinning wheel, and the thump 
of the old hand loom. While the men were engaged 
in their outdoor work, the women spun, wove, and 
made the comfortable jeans clothes that were the 
fashion ; while the girls plaited straw, and made hats 
and bonnets, and in many other ways helped the 
older people. In a little while peddlers from the 
more northern States began to travel through Georgia 
with their various wares, some with pewter plates and 
spoons, and some with clocks. The peddlers traveled 
in wagons instead of carrying their packs on their 
backs, and in this way brought a great deal of mer- 
chandise to the State. 

As was natural, the political development of Georgia 
was much more rapid than its industrial progress. In 
January, 1783, Lyman Hall was elected governor. He 
was distinguished for the patriotic stand he took at the 
very beginning of the controversy between the Colony 
and the King. The Legislature met in Savannah after 
the evacuation of the town by the British ; but it was 
so far from the central and upper portions of the 
State, and there was so much dissatisfaction among 
the people on this account, that in May Augusta was 
made the capital. In that town the General Assembly 
met July 8, 1783. Measures were at once taken to 
seize land, and confiscate the property of those Royal- 



148 

ists who had lived in Georgia. This property was sold 
for the benefit of the public. In November of the 
same year a new cession of land was obtained from 
the Creek nation by treaty. This was divided into 
the counties of Franklin and Washington, and the 
land distributed in bounties to the soldiers of the 
war. 

It is worthy of note that about this time, when the 
State had hardly begun to recover from the effects of 
the war, the representatives of the people began to 
move in the matter of education. The Constitution 
of 1777 had declared that ''schools shall be erected 
in each county, and supported by the general expense 
of the State." On the 31st of July, 1783, the Legis- 
lature appropriated one thousand acres of land to 
each county for the support of free schools. In 1784, 
a short time after the notification of the treaty of peace, 
the Legislature passed an act appropriating forty thou- 
sand acres of land for the endowment of a college or 
university. A year later the charter for this univer- 
sity was granted ; and the preamble of the act declares 
it to be the policy of the State to foster education in 
the most liberal way. It so happened that some of the 
provisions that had been made for public education 
were not carried out at once, and the people of the 
various settlements established schools of their own. 
Many of the best teachers of the country came to 
Georgia from the more northern States ; and some of 
them won a reputation that has lasted to this day. 
Later, more than one of these teachers established 
schools that became famous all over the country. In 



149 

this way the reign of the '' old field schoolmaster " 
began, and continued for many years. 

The people had been cultivating cotton on a small 
scale before 1791 ; but the staple was so difficult to 
handle, that the planting was limited. Those who 
grew it were compelled to separate the seed from 







the lint by hand, and this was so tedious that few 
people would grow it. But in 1793, Eli Whitney, who 
was living on the plantation of General Greene, near 
Savannah, invented the cotton gin. The machine was 
a very awkward and cumbrous affair compared with 
the gins of the present day ; but in that day and 
time, and for many years after, the Whitney was suf- 



ISO 

ficient for the needs of the people. It was one of the 
most important inventions that have ever been made. 
It gave to the commerce of the world a staple com- 
modity that is in universal demand, and it gave to the 
people of the Soath their most valuable and important 
crop. But for this timely invention, the cultivation 
of cotton would have been confined to the narrowest 
limits. The gin proved to be practicable, and it came 
into use very quickly. The farmers prospered, and 
gradually increased the cotton crop. 

The population also increased very rapidly. The 
rich lands were purchased and settled on by farmers 
from Virginia and the Carolinas. The colony that had 
been planted by Oglethorpe had never ventured very 
far from the seacoast. A few probably followed the 
course of the Savannah River, and made their homes 
in that region ; but the people brought over by Ogle- 
thorpe were not of the stuff that pioneers are made 
of. The experience they had undergone in the mother 
country had tamed them to such a degree that they 
had no desire to brave the future in the wilderness. 
Adventures of that kind were left for the hardy North 
Carolinians and Virginians who first settled what was 
then known as Upper Georgia. After the Revolution, 
this tide of immigration increased very rapidly, and it 
was still further swelled by the profits that the Whit- 
ney gin enabled the planters of Georgia to make out 
of their cotton crops. 

The settling of Georgia began with the charitable 
scheme of Oglethorpe. The making of Georgia began 
when the North Carolinians and Virginians began to 



T5I 

open up the Broad River region to the north of 
Augusta. It was due to the desperate stand taken by 
these hardy pioneers that Georgia continued the strug- 
gle for American independence. To Upper Georgia 
came some of the best famiUes from Virginia and North 
CaroUna, — the Grattons, the Lewises, the Clarkes, the 
Strothers, the Crawfords, the Reeses, the Harrises, 
the Andrewses, the Taliaferros (pronounced TolUvers), 
the Campbells, the Barnetts, the Toombses, the Doolys, 
and many other families whose names have figured in 
the history of the country. Here also settled James 
Jack, the sturdy patriot who volunteered to carry the 
Mecklenburg Declaration of Independence to Philadel- 
phia. The Congress then in session chose to shut its 
eyes to that declaration, but it was the basis and 
framework of the Declaration afterwards written by 
Thomas Jefferson. 

After the Revolution, when the Cherokees went on 
the warpath, the Virginia settlement was in a state of 
great alarm. Men, women, and children met together, 
and decided that it would be safer to camp in the woods 
in a body at night rather than run the risk of being 
burned to death in houses that they could not defend. 
They went into the depths of the woods and made an 
encampment. One night while they were around a fire, 
cooking their supper, suddenly the report of a gun was 
heard, and then there was a cry of " Indians ! " The 
men seized their guns ; but they hardly knew where to 
turn, or what to do. Suddenly a lad who had not lost his 
head emptied a bucket of water on the fire. This was 
the thing to do, but no one else had thought of it. The 



152 

name of the lad was Meriwether Lewis. He went into 
the regular army, became the private secretary of Presi- 
dent Jefferson, and was selected to head the party 
that explored the Territory of Louisiana, which had 
been bought from France. Meriwether Lewis selected 
for his companion Captain Clark, an old army friend 
and comrade. Leading the party, Lewis and his 
friend Clark left St. Louis, and pushed westward to the 
Pacific coast, through dangers and obstacles that few 
men would have cared to meet. The famous expe- 
dition of Lewis and Clark has now become a part of 
the history of the country. Lewis took possession of 
the Pacific coast in the name of the United States. 
There was a controversy with Great Britain some years 
afterwards as to the title of Oregon, but that which 
Lewis and Clark had established was finally acknowl- 
edged to be the best. 

Meriwether Lewis won a name in history because the 
opportunity came to him. His name is mentioned here 
because he was a representative of the men who settled 
Upper Georgia, — the men who kept the fires of liberty 
alive in the State, and who, after helping to conquer 
the British and the Tories, became the conquerors of 
the wilderness that lay to the west of them. From 
Wilkes, Burke, Elbert, and the region where Clarke 
and his men had fought, the tide of emigration slowly 
moved across the State, settling Greene, Hancock, Bald- 
win, Putnam, Morgan, Jasper, Butts, Monroe, Coweta, 
Upson, Pike, Meriwether, Talbot, Harris, and Muscogee 
counties. 

Some of the more adventurous crossed the Chat- 



153 

tahoochee into Alabama, and on into the great Missis- 
sippi Valley and beyond. Their descendants live in 
every part of the South ; and Alabama, Mississippi, 
and Texas have had Georgians for their governors, and 
their senators and representatives in Congress, — men 
who were descended from the Virginia and North Caro- 
lina immigrants. One of the most brilliant of these was 
Mirabeau B. Lamar, scholar, statesman, and soldier, the 
president of Texas when that Territory had declared 
itself a free and an independent republic. 



THE COTTON GIN. 

BRIEF mention has been made of Whitney's inven- 
tion of the cotton gin. The event was of such 
world-wide importance that the story should be told here. 
Whitney, the inventor of the gin, was born in Massachu- 
setts in 1765, in very poor circumstances. While the 
War of the Revolution was going on, he was earning 
his living by making nails by hand. He was such an 
apt mechanic that he was able to make and save enough 
money to pay his way through Yale College, where he 
graduated in 1792. In that year he engaged himself 
to come to Georgia as a private tutor in the family of 
a gentleman of Savannah ; but when he reached that 
city, he found that the place had been filled. 

While in Savannah, Whitney attracted the attention 
of the widow of General Nathanael Greene, who lived 
at Mulberry Grove, on the river at no great distance 
from the city. Mrs. Greene invited the young man to 
make his home on her plantation. He soon found 
opportunity to show his fine mechanical genius, and 
Mrs. Greene became more interested in him than ever. 

The story goes, that soon after the young man had 
established himself on the Mulberry Grove Plantation, 
several Georgia planters were dining with Mrs. Greene. 
During their conversation the difficulty of removing the 

154 



155 

seed from the cotton fiber was mentioned, and the sug- 
gestion was made that this might be done by machinery. 
At this Mrs. Greene mentioned the skill and ingenuity 
of young Whitney, and advised her guests that he 
should be given the problem to solve. This advice was 
followed. The planters had a talk with the young man, 
and explained to him the difficulty which they found 
in separating the seed from the lint. 

At that time one pound of lint cotton was all that a 
negro woman could separate from the seed in a day; 
and the more cotton the planters raised, the deeper 
they got in debt. The close of the war had found them 
in a state of the utmost poverty, so that they had been 
compelled to mortgage their lands in order to get money 
on which to begin business. Cotton was the only prod- 
uct of the farm for which there was any constant demand ; 
but, owing to the labor of separating the lint from the 
seed, it could not be raised at a profit. Thus, in 1791, the 
number of pounds exported from the South to Europe 
amounted to only about 379 bales of 500 pounds each. 

When the planters went to Whitney with their prob- 
lem, he was entirely ignorant of the whole matter. He 
knew nothing of cotton or of cotton planting ; but he at 
once set himself at work. He made a careful study of 
the cotton plant. He shut himself in a room with some 
uncleaned cotton, and worked at his task during a whole 
winter. He made his own tools at the plantation black- 
smith shop ; and all day long, and sometimes far into 
the night, he could be heard hammering and sawing 
away. 

In 1793 he called together the planters who had asked 



156 



him to solve the problem, and showed them the machine, 
which he called a cotton gin. When they saw it work, 
their surprise and delight knew no bounds. They knew 

at once that the prob- 
lem had been solved by 
the young genius from 
Massachusetts. Little 
calculation was needed 
to show them that the 
cotton gin could clean 
as much cotton in a day 
as could be cleaned on 
a plantation during a 
whole winter. What be- 
fore had been the work 
of a hundred hands for 
several months could 
now be completed in a 
few days. 

But it seems to be 
the fate of the majority 
of those who make won- 
derful inventions never 
to enjoy the full benefits 
of the work of their 
genius. Eli Whitney 
was not an exception to the general rule. While he was 
working on his cotton gin, rumors of it went abroad ; 
and by the time it was completed, public expectation 
was on tiptoe. When the machine was finished, it was 
shown to only a few people ; but the fact, of such im- 




157 

niense importance to the people of the State, was soon 
known throughout the State, and the planters impa- 
tiently waited for the day when they would be able to 
put it in use. 

One night the building in which Whitney's cotton 
gin was concealed was broken into, ransacked, and 
the machine carried off. It was a bold robbery, and 
a very successful one. The inventor made haste to 
build another gin ; but before he could get his model 
completed, and obtain a patent right to the invention, 
the machine had been manufactured at various points 
in the South by other parties, and was in operation 
on several plantations. Whitney formed a partnership 
with a gentleman who had some capital, and went 
to Connecticut to manufacture his gin ; but he was 
compelled to spend all the money he could make, 
fighting lawsuits. His patent had been infringed, and 
those who sought to rob him of the fruits of his labor 
took a bold stand. The result of all this was, that the 
inventor never received any just compensation for a 
machine that revolutionized the commerce of the coun- 
try, and added enormously to the power and progress of 
the Republic. Lord Macaulay said that Eli Whitney 
did more to make the United States powerful than 
Peter the Great did to make the Russian Empire domi- 
nant. Robert Fulton declared that Arkwright, Watt, 
and Whitney were the three men that did more for 
mankind than any of their contemporaries. This is 
easy to believe, when we remember that while the 
South shipped 6 bags of cotton to England in 1786, 
and only 379 in 1791, ten years after the cotton gin 



I5S 

came into use, 82,000 bales were exported. The very 
importance of Whitney's invention made it immensely 
profitable for the vicious and the depraved to seize 
and appropriate the inventor's rights. These robberies 
were upheld by those who were anxious to share in 
the profits; and political demagogues made themselves 
popular by misrepresenting Whitney, and clamoring 
against the law that was intended to protect him. It 
was only by means of this clamor, half political and 
wholly dishonest, that the plain rights of Whitney, 
could be denied and justice postponed. His invention 
was entirely new. It was distinct from every other. 
It had no connection with and no relation to any other 
invention that had been made. It stood alone, and 
there could be no difficulty whatever in identifying it. 
And yet Whitney had just this difficulty. In his efforts 
to prove that he was the inventor of the cotton gin, 
and that he was entitled to a share of the immense 
profits that those who used it were reaping, he had 
to travel thousands of miles, and spend thousands of 
dollars in appearing before Legislatures and in courts 
that denied '- im justice. The life of his patent had 
nearly expired before any court finally enforced his 
right, and Congress refused to grant him an extension 
beyond the fourteen years that had then nearly expired. 
Associations and combinations had been formed for 
the purpose of defrauding Whitney, and these were 
represented by the ablest lawyers that could be hired. 
It is no wonder that Whitney, in writing to Robert 
Fulton, a brother inventor, declared that the troubles 
he had to contend with were the .result of a lack of 



159 

desire on the part of mankind to see justice done. 
The truth is, his invention was of such prime impor- 
tance that the public fought for its possession, and 
justice and honesty were for the moment lost sight of. 
At one time but a few men in Georgia were bold enough 
to go into court and testify to the simplest facts within 
their knowledge ; and Whitney himself says, that in 
one instance he had the greatest difficulty in proving 
that the machine had been used in Georgia, although 
at that very moment three separate gins were at work 
within fifty yards of the building in which the court 
sat. They were all so near, that the rattle and hum 
of the machinery could be heard from the court-house 
steps. 

In December, 1807, a judge was found to affirm the 
rights of Whitney under his patent. The judge's name 
was Johnson ; and in his decision he said, " The whole 
interior of the Southern States was languishing, and 
its inhabitants emigrating for want of some object to 
engage their attention and employ their industry, when 
the invention of this machine at once opened views 
to them which set the whole country in active motion. 
From childhood to age it has presented to us a lucrative 
employment. Individuals who were depressed with 
poverty, and sunk in idleness, have suddenly risen 
to wealth and respectability. Our debts have been 
paid off. Our capital has increased, and our lands 
have trebled themselves in value. We cannot express 
the weight of the obligation which the country owes 
to this invention. The extent of it cannot now be 
seen." 



i6o 

The language of the learned judge was high-flown ; 
but he was a just judge, and he had a faint and glim- 
m-ering idea of the real importance of this remarkable 
invention. It was a very simple affair. The principle 
came to Whitney in a flash, and he had a model con- 
structed within ten days after the despairing planters 
had gone to him with their problem. But it may be 
doubted whether any other individual, by one simple 
invention, ever did so much for the progress and en- 
richment of human interests, and for the welfare and 
the comfort of the human race. This little machine 
made the agriculture of the South the strongest and 
the richest in the world, and gave to this section a 
political power that was for years supreme in the 
nation, and was only surrendered as the result of a 
long and exhausting war. By means of the cotton 
gin, towns and cities have sprung up, and a vast net- 
work of railways has been built ; and yet the most that 
Whitney received was a royalty on his gin in North 
Carolina, and a donation of fifty thousand dollars from 
the State of South Carolina. In Georgia his right to 
his invention was stolen, and all that he got out of it 
was a number of costly lawsuits. 

After struggling for five years against the over- 
whelming odds that avarice and greed had mustered 
to aid them, Whitney turned his attention in another 
direction, and made a still more remarkable display of 
his genius. This part of his career does not belong 
directly to the history of Georgia, but it is interesting 
enough to be briefly recorded here. The United States 
Government was in want of arms, and this want various 



i6i 



contractors had failed to meet. Through the influence 
of the secretary of the treasury, Whitney was given 
a contract to make ten thousand muskets at ^13.40 
apiece. He had no capital, no works, no machinery, 
no tools, no skilled workmen, no raw material. In 
creating a part of these and commanding the rest, he 
called into play an inventive genius, the extent of which 
must always excite wonder and admiration. 

Within ten years he created his own works, and in- 
vented and made his own tools, invented and made his 
own machinery. More than this, he invented and ap- 
plied a wholly new principle of manufacture, — a prin- 
ciple that has done more to advance human industry 
and increase wealth all over the world than any other 
known effort of the human mind to solve material 
problems. He invented and developed the principle 
or system of making the various parts of a musket or 
any other complex manufactured article, such as the 
sewing machine, so absolutely uniform as to be inter- 
changeable. This principle has been carried out in 
hundreds of thousands of different ways. It has 
entered into and become a feature of a vast range of 
manufactures. The principle was established by a 
series of inventions as wonderful as any that the 
human mind ever conceived, so that Whitney has 
been aptly called the Shakespeare of invention. His 
inventions remain practically unchanged. After ninety 
years of trial, they are found to be practically perfect. 

It was his peculiar gift to be able to convey into 
inanimate machinery the skill that a human being 
could acquire only after years of study and practice. 

STC). OF GA. — 1 1 



1 62 

It is almost like belittling the greatest of marvels to 
call it a stroke of genius. He made it possible for the 
most ordinary laborer to accomplish a hundred times as 
much in an hour, and with the most exquisite perfec- 
tion, as a skilled laborer could accomplish in a day. 

On these wonderful inventions Whitney took out 
nu patents He gave them all to the public. In this 
way he revenged himself on those who had successfully 
robbed him of the fruits of his labor and genius in the 
invention of the cotton gin. Perhaps if he had been 
more justly treated in Georgia, he might have set up 
his works in this State, and this fact might have made 
the South the seat of great manufacturing industries. 
Who knows ? 



SOME GEORGIA INVENTIONS. 

THE credit of inventing the steamboat is by general 
consent given to Robert Fulton. Every school- 
boy is taught that such is the case, and yet the fact 
is at least very doubtful. There is preserved among 
the papers in the Archives of Georgia a document that 
indicates, that, while Robert Fulton has won the credit 
for an invention that has revolutionized the commerce 
of the world, the real inventor may have been William 
Longstreet of Augusta, an uncle of General James B. 
Longstreet, and the father of Judge A. B. Longstreet, 
author of " Georgia Scenes." On the 26th of Septem- 
ber, 1790, William Longstreet sent the following letter 
to Edward Telfair, who was then governor of Georgia: — 

Sir, — I make no doubt but you have heard of my steamboat 
and as often heard it laughed at. But in this I have only shared 
the fate of all other projectors, for it has uniformly been the custom 
of every country to ridicule even the greatest inventions until use 
has proved their utility. 

My not reducing my scheme to practice has been a little un- 
fortunate for me, I confess, and perhaps for the people in general, 
but until very lately I did not think that either artists or material 
could be had in the place sufficient. However, necessity, that 
grand science of invention, has furnished me with an idea of per- 
fecting my plans almost entirely with wooden materials, and by 
such workmen as may be got here, and from a thorough confidence 
of its success, I have presumed to ask your assistance and patronage. 

163 



164 

Should it succeed agreeable to my expectations, I hope I shall dis- 
cover that source of duty which such favors always merit, and should 
it not succeed, your reward must lay with other unlucky adventurers. 

For me to mention to you all the advantages arising from such 
a machine would be tedious, and, indeed, quite unnecessary. 
Therefore I have taken the liberty to state in this plain and humble 
manner my wish and opinion, which I hope you will excuse, and I 
will remain, either with or without approbation, 

Your Excellency's most obedient and very humble servant, 

William Longstreet, 

There are two features of this letter that ought to 
attract attention. One is that William Longstreet has 
the name of " steamboat " as pat as if the machine were 
in common use. The second is his allusion to the fact 
that his conception of a boat to be propelled by steam 
was so well known as to be noised abroad. 

Credit is sometimes given to John Fitch, who, it is 
said, invented a boat propelled by steam, that carried 
passengers on the Delaware River in. 1787. An Eng- 
lishman named Symington is said to have run a steam- 
boat in 1801, while Robert Fulton's success was delayed 
until 1806. All these men have received credit for 
their efforts to benefit humanity, but history is silent 
in regard to William Longstreet. In. one book about 
Georgia the remark is made that '' James Longstreet is 
said to have invented the steamboat in 1793," but in 
this instance neither the name nor the date is correct. 

In old St. Paul's churchyard in Augusta there is a 
tombstone which bears the inscription, " Sacred to the 
memory of William Longstreet, who departed this life 
September I, 1814, aged 54 years, 10 months, and 26 
days." Below this runs the pleasant legend, "All the 



•65 



days of the afflicted are evil, but he that is of a merry 
heart hath a continual feast." We are thus left to 
infer that William Longstreet was a man of a merry 
heart ; and that fact is certified to by the cleverness 
with which his son, the author of " Georgia Scenes," 
has preserved for us some of the quaint characters 
that lived and moved and had their being on the 
borders of Georgia society directly after the Revolution. 

Being an inventor, a man of 
ingenious ideas, and some- 
what ambitious of serv- 
ing the public in that 
way, William Long- 
street certainly had 
need of a merry 
heart ; for, as he 
himself says, the 
way of the pro- 
jector is hard. 
The term itself is 

used in Georgia to this day to express 
a certain sort of good-natured contempt. 
Go into the country places and ask after some acquaint- 
ance who has not prospered in a worldly way, and the 
answer will be, " Oh, he's just a prodjikin around." 

It is certain that William Longstreet knew that steam 
could be used as a motive power long before it was so 
applied ; and because he employed a good deal of his 
time in trying to discover the principle, he was ridiculed 
by his neighbors and friends, and the more thoughtless 
among them didn't know whether he was a crank, a half- 




1 66 

wit, or a 'Muny." From all accounts, he was a modest, 
shy, retiring man, though a merry one. He had but 
little money to devote to the experiments he wished 
to make, and in this was not different from the great 
majority of inventors. 

For a long time Longstreet's zeal and enthusiasm 
attracted the attention of a few of his wealthy friends, 
and these furnished him such money as he wanted ; but 
no very long time was needed to convince those who 
were spending their money that the idea of propelling 
a boat by steam, instead of by sails or oars, was ridicu- 
lous. Longstreet made many experiments, but he had 
not hit upon the method of applying the principle he 
had in mind : consequently his rich friends closed their 
purses, and left him entirely to his own resources. A 
newspaper publication, in giving some of the facts in 
regard to Longstreet's efforts, says that he and his 
steamboat were made the subject of a comic song: — 

" Can you row the boat ashore, 

Billy boy, Billy boy? 
Can you row the boat ashore, 

Gentle Billy ? 
Can you row the boat ashore 
Without a paddle or an oar, 

Billyboy?" 

Though he had failed many times, Longstreet was 
not disheartened. He continued his experiments, and 
at last succeeded in making a toy boat, which he exhib- 
ited to a few friends. His idea at this time, it seems, 
was not to construct a steamboat, but merely to con- 
vince some of his friends that steam could be used as a 



16/ 

motive power. But in this he was not very successful. 
His toy boat did all that he wanted it to do ; but his 
friends declared, that while steam might be used to 
move a small boat, it could never be used to move a 
large one. The experience of a new generation showed 
that there was one wise man in Augusta and a great 
many fools. Nevertheless William Longstreet deter- 
mined to show that a large boat could be moved by a 
large amount of steam as easily as a small boat could 
be moved by a small volume. 

Now, while he was making his experiments, and try- 
ing to overcome the difficulties that presented them- 
selves, Robert Fulton was living in Paris with Joel 
Barlow. He was in Paris when Napoleon became first 
consul. At that time he was experimenting with his div- 
ing boat and submarine torpedo. Napoleon was so much 
interested in this work that he gave Fulton ten thou- 
sand francs to carry it on. The inventor was in France 
in 1803 when Napoleon organized his army for the 
invasion of England. He was surrounded by influen- 
tial friends, and he had money at his command. 

Compared with William Longstreet, Robert Fulton 
was ''in clover." Longstreet was compelled to work 
without money, and in the midst of a community whose 
curiosity had developed into criticism and ridicule. 
Thus it was not until 1806 that he succeeded in com- 
pleting a steamboat that would accommodate twenty or 
twenty-five persons. He went on board, accompanied 
by such of his friends as he could persuade, and in the 
presence of a curious and doubting crowd the first real 
steamboat was launched on the Savannah River. Some 



i68 

of the friends of those on board, feeUng anxious for 
their safety if the " contraption " should explode, 
secured a skiff, and followed the steamboat at a safe 
distance, ready to pick up such of the passengers as 
might survive when the affair had blown to pieces. 
Longstreet. headed the boat down the river, and went 
in that direction for several miles. Then he turned the 
head of the little boat upstream ; and, although the 
current was swift, he carried his passengers back to 
the wharf, and several miles above. 

From that hour William Longstreet became a man 
of some consequence in the community. Those who 
had ridiculed him now sang his praises, and those who 
had doubted that steam could be used as a motive power 
were now convinced. His friends tried hard to get him 
to go to Washington and secure the benefits of a patent 
for his invention ; but he persistently refused to take any 
steps to profit by the results of his genius, or indeed to 
make his invention known. His constant reply to all 
those who tried to persuade him to go to Washington 
was, that he had carried on his experiments simply to 
prove the truth of his theory to his own satisfaction, 
and to convince those whose respect he coveted that he 
was neither a fool nor a crank. 

Some of his friends and admirers were themselves 
preparing to go to Washington in behalf of the in- 
ventor, but they had put off their journey until the 
year after the exhibition was made in Augusta, and at 
that time they heard that Robert Fulton had exhibited 
his steamboat "Clermont" on the Hudson River. They 
then gave up their design, and William Longstreet 



169 

continued to remain in the seclusion that was so pleas- 
ant to him. 

It is a noteworthy fact, that twelve years after Wil- 
liam Longstreet made his successful experiments on 
the Savannah River, Georgia enterprise built, launched, 
and managed the first steamship that ever crossed the 
ocean. This great enterprise was organized in Savan- 
nah in 18 18. The Georgia Company contracted to have 
the ship built in New York ; and when completed, it 
was named the " Savannah." The vessel was finished 
and brought to Savannah in April, 18 19. In May the 
steamship left Savannah bound for Liverpool. From 
Liverpool it went to St. Petersburg, and then returned 
to Savannah, having made the voyage in fifty days. 

The first sewing machine was invented by Rev. Frank 
R. Goulding, a Georgian who has won fame among the 
children of the land as the author of " The Young: 
Marooners." He invented the sewing machine for 
the purpose of lightening the labors of his wife ; and 
she used it for some years before some other genius 
invented it, or some traveler stole the idea and im- 
proved on it. 

Dr. Crawford W. Long, in 1842, when twenty-seven 
years of age, performed the first painless surgical oper- 
ation that is known to history. In 1839, Velpeau of 
Paris declared that the attempts to find some agent by 
which to prevent pain in surgical operations was noth- 
ing less than chimerical ; and as late as 1846 Sir Benja- 
min Brodie said, " Physicians and surgeons have been 
looking in vain, from the days of Hippocrates down to 
the present time, for the means of allaying or prevent- 



I/O 



ing bodily pain." And yet three years after the decla- 
ration of Velpeau, and four years before the statement 
of Sir Benjamin Brodie, the young Georgia physician 
had removed a tumor from the neck of a patient, and 
that patient had felt no pain. 

The story is very interesting. Dr. Crawford W. 
Long was born in Danielsville, Madison County, Ga., 
on the 1st "of November, 1815. He graduated at 

the University of 
Georgia, studied 
medicine, and grad- 
uated at the medical 
department of the 
University of Penn- 
sylvania. He then 
went to Jefferson, 
Jackson County, 
where he opened 
an office, and prac- 
ticed medicine for 
many years. 

In those days the 
young men living in the country districts, for want 
of something better to amuse them, were in the 
habit of inhaling nitrous-oxide gas, or, as it was 
then popularly known, ** laughing gas." The young 
people would gather together, and some of them 
would inhale the gas until they came under its influ- 
ence. The result was in most cases very amusing. 
Some would laugh, some would cry, and all in various 
ways would carry out the peculiarities of their charac- 




171 

ters and dispositions. Thus, if a young man had an 
inward incUnation to preach, he would, under the influ- 
ence of "laughing gas," proceed to deliver a sermon. 
As these "laughing-gas" parties were exhilarating to 
the young people who inhaled the gas, and amusing to 
those who were spectators, they became very popular. 

But it was not always easy to secure the gas. On 
one occasion a company of young men went to Dr. 
Long's office and asked him to make them a supply of 
"laughing gas." There was no apparatus in the office 
suitable for making it, but Dr. Long told the young 
men that the inhalation of sulphuric ether would have 
the same effect. He had become acquainted with this 
property of ether while studying medicine in Philadel- 
phia. The young men and their friends were so well 
pleased with the effects of ether inhalation, that " ether 
parties" became fashionable in that section, as well as 
in other parts of the State. At these ether parties, Dr. 
Long noticed that persons who received injuries while 
under its influence felt no pain. On one occasion a 
young man received an injury to his ankle joint that 
disabled him for several days, and he told Dr. Long that 
he did not feel the slightest pain until the effects of the 
ether had passed off. Observing these facts, Dr. Long 
was led to believe that surgical operations might be 
performed without pain. 

Dr. Long's theory was formed in 1841, but he waited 
for some time before testing it, in the hope that a case 
of surgery of some importance — the amputation of an 
arm or a leg — might fall in his practice. On the 30th 
of March, 1842, Dr. Long removed a tumor from the 



neck of Mr. James M. Venable. On the 6th of June, 
the same year, another small tumor was removed from 
the neck of the same patient, and both operations were 
painless. Mr. Venable inhaled sulphuric ether, and the 
effect of it was to render him insensible to the pain of 
cutting out the tumors. 

Dr. Long had told Mr. Venable that he would charge 
little or nothing for removing the tumors under the 
influence of ether. The bill rendered for both opera- 
tions amounted to $4.50; but, small as the bill was, it 
represented the discovery and application of ether in 
surgical practice, — one of the greatest boons to man- 
kind. Up to that time no patient under the surgeon's 
knife had ever been able to escape the horror and pain 
of an operation. 

Dr. Long did not at once print the facts about his 
discovery. He wanted to make assurance doubly sure. 
He waited in the hope of having an important case of 
surgery under his charge, such as the amputation of a 
leg or an arm. But these cases, rare at any time, were 
still rarer at that time, especially in the region where 
Dr. Long practiced. He finally satisfied himself, how- 
ever, of the importance of his discovery, but, having 
waited until 1846, found that at least three persons — 
Wells, Jackson, and Morton — had hit on the same 
discovery, and had made publication of it. Morton 
patented ether under the name of *' Letheon," and in 
October, 1846, administered it to a patient in the 
Massachusetts General Hospital. 

In 1844, Horace Wells, a native of Vermont, discov- 
ered that the inhalation of nitrous-oxide gas produces 



1 73 

anaesthesia. He was a dentist. He gave it to his 
patients, and was able to perform dental operations 
without causing pain. Thus we may see how the case 
stands. Long produced anaesthesia in 1842; that is to 
say, he caused his patients to inhale sulphuric ether 
in that year, whenever he had a painful operation to 
perform, and in each case the operation was painless. 
In 1846, when the surgeons of the Massachusetts 
General Hospital performed painless operations on 
patients, after administering to them Morton's patented 
'' Letheon," which was his name for sulphuric ether, 
there came about a great war of pamphlets, and it 
ended tragically. Long had never made any secret of 
the substance which he used. He gave information of 
it to all the suri^-eons and doctors with whom he came in 

o 

contact ; and he was not in any way concerned in the 
conflict that was carried on by Jackson, Morton, and 
Wells. He simply gathered together the facts of his 
discovery, proved that he was the first physician to per- 
form painless operations in surgery, and that was the 
end of it so far as he was concerned. 

Wells became insane, and committed suicide in New 
York in 1848. Morton died in New York City of con- 
gestion of the brain. Jackson ended his days in an 
insane asylum. 

In Boston a monument has been erected to the dis- 
coverer of anaesthesia. The name of Crawford W. 
Long should stand first upon it, and should be followed 
by the names of Wells, Morton, and Jackson. 



THE EARLY PROGRESS OF THE STATE. 




A 



FTER the 
invention of 
the cotton gin, 
the progress 
of the people 
and the devel- 
opment of the 
agriculture of 
the State went forward 
very rapidly. The popu- 
lation began to increase. 
The movement of families 
from Virginia and North 
Carolina grew constantly larger. 
In Virginia, and in settled por- 
tions of North Carolina, it was 
found that the soil and climate 
were not favorable to the growth 
of the cotton plant: consequently hun- 
dreds of families left their homes in these 
States, and came to Georgia. 

When Oglethorpe settled the Colony, the charter 
under which he acted prohibited the introduction and 
use of negro slaves in the Colony. It is hard to say at 

174 



f<i.^«l 



175 

this late day whether this portion of the charter was 
dictated by feeUngs of humanity, especially when we re- 
member that in those days, and in most of the Colonies, 
there were many white people — men, women, and chil- 
dren — employed and used as slaves. From the very 
first, many of the Georgia colonists were anxious to 
introduce negro slaves, but the trustees firmly refused 
to allow it. There was a strong party in favor of intro- 
ducing negroes, and those who opposed the movement 
presently found themselves in a very small and unpopu- 
lar minority. By 1 748 the excitement over the question 
had grown so great, that those colonists who were op- 
posed to negro slavery were compelled to abandon their 
position. Rev. Mr. Whitefield, the eloquent preacher, 
had already bought and placed negro slaves at his 
Orphan House at Bethesda, near Savannah. The colo- 
nists had also treated this part of the charter with 
contempt. They pretended to hire negroes' homes in 
South Carolina for a hundred years, or during life. 
They paid the ''hire" in advance, the sum being the 
full value of the slaves. Finally negroes were bought 
openly from traders in Savannah. Some of them were 
seized ; but a majority of the magistrates were in favor 
of the introduction of negroes, and they were able to 
postpone legal decisions from time to time. 

Rev. George Whitefield, whose wonderful eloquence 
has made his name famous, and Hon. James Haber- 
sham, had great influence with the trustees ; and it was 
mainly due to their efforts that the colonists were 
legally allowed to purchase and use negro slaves. Mr. 
Habersham affirmed that the Colony could not prosper 



176 

without slave labor. Rev. Mr. Whitefielcl, on the other 
hand, was in favor of negro slavery on the broad ground 
of philanthropy. He boldly declared that it would be 
of great advantage to the African to be brought from 
his barbarous surroundings and placed among civilized 
Christians. When we remember what has happened, 
who can deny that the remark of the eloquent preacher 
was not more to the purpose, and nearer to the truth, 
than some of the modern statements about American 
slavery ^ What really happened (as any one may discover 
by looking into impartial history) was, that thousands 
of negroes who had been captured in battle, and made 
slaves of in their own country, were taken from that 
dark land and brought into the light of Christian civili- 
zation. Their condition, mentally and morally, was so 
improved, that, in little more than a century after White- 
field made his statement, the government of the United 
States ventured to make citizens of them. The con- 
trast between their condition and that of the negroes 
who remained in Africa is so startling, that a well- 
known abolitionist, writing twenty years after emanci- 
pation, has described slavery as a great university, 
which the negroes entered as barbarians, and came out 
of as Christians and citizens. 

The efforts of the Colony to secure a repeal of the 
act prohibiting slavery were successful. The trustees 
in London concluded that it would be better to permit 
slavery, with such restrictions and limitations as might 
be proper, than to permit the wholesale violations that 
were then going on; and so in 1749 the colonists of 
Georgia were allowed by law to own and use negro slaves. 



177 

Thus, when the cotton gin came fairly into use, 
slavery had been legally allowed in Georgia for nearly 
half a century. The rest of the Colonies had long en- 
joyed that privilege. The cotton gin, therefore, had a 
twofold effect, — it increased the cotton crop and the 
value of the lands, and it also increased the use of 
negro slaves. The Virginians and North Carolinians, 
who came to Georgia, brought their slaves with them ; 
and the Georgians, as their crops became profitable, laid 
out their surplus cash in buying more negroes. The 
slave trade became very prosperous, and both Old 
England and New England devoted a large amount of 
capital and enterprise to this branch of commerce. 

As the population increased, and the cotton crop 
became more valuable, the demand for land became 
keener. To this fact was due the intense excitement 
kindled by the Yazoo Fraud in 1794. The cotton gin 
had been introduced the year before, and the people 
were beginning to see and appreciate the influence the 
invention would have on their prosperity. Instead of 
selling land to speculators, they wanted to keep it for 
themselves and children, or at least to get something 
like its real value. 

The cotton gin had increased not only the demand 
for negro slaves, but also the demand for land ; and 
indirectly it was the cause of the various troubles the 
State had with the Indians after the close of the War 
for Independence. The troubles with the Indians also 
led finally to serious misunderstandings between the 
United States Government and that of Georgia. In 
May, 1796, a treaty was made betweCii the United 

STO. OF GA. — 12 



1/8 

States and the Creeks. This treaty created some indig- 
nation among the people, and was denounced as an 
interference by the General Government with State 
affairs. The lands which the Indians ceded to the 
United States were a part of the Territory of Georgia, 
and the transaction gave rise to much discussion and 
considerable bad feeling. 

In ten years, from 1790 to 1800, the population in 
Georgia had increased more than eighty thousand. 
During the next ten years the increase in the popula- 
tion was more than ninety thousand. This increase 
meant a still greater demand for farm lands. West- 
ward the Territory of Georgia extended to the Mis- 
sissippi River. The agitation which began over this 
rich possession when the Yazoo Fraud was attempted, 
was kept up until 1800, when Georgia appointed four 
of her most prominent citizens to meet with commis- 
sioners appointed by the United States, and settle all 
questions that had arisen. The result was, that Georgia 
ceded to the General Government all her lands belong- 
ing to the State, south of Tennessee and west of the 
Chattahoochee River. These lands were to be sold, 
and out of the proceeds the State was to receive ^1,250,- 
000. It was also provided that the United States, at 
its own expense, should extinguish the Indian titles 
to the lands held by the Creeks between the forks of 
the Oconee and Ocmulgee rivers, and that in like man- 
ner the General Government should extinguish the 
Indian title to all the other lands within the State of 
Georgia. Under this agreement, and the Indian treaty 
based upon it, nearly all of the lands lying between the 



179 

Oconee and Ocmulgee rivers were opened up for occu- 
pation and cultivation. 

All the Territory of Georgia was looked upon by the 
people as a public domain, belonging to the State for 
distribution among the citizens. The lands east of the 
Oconee were divided among the people under the plan 
known as the ''Head Right System." By this system 
every citizen was allowed to choose, and survey to suit 
himself, a body of unoccupied land. This done, he re- 
ceived a title called a ''head right land warrant," which 
was issued to him when he paid a small fee and a 
nominal price for the land. If no one had previously 
appropriated the same land, the warrant was his title. 
But much confusion arose in the distribution of titles, 
and serious disputes grew out of it. The poorer sec- 
tions of land were neglected, and only the most fertile 
sections surveyed. 

When the lands west of the Oconee were acquired, 
the clumsy Head Right System was given up for what 
is known as the "Land Lottery System." "All free 
white males, twenty-one years of age or older, every 
married man with children under age, widows with chil- 
dren, and all families of orphan minors," were allowed 
to draw in the lottery. Lists of these persons were made 
out in each county, and sent to the governor. The lot- 
tery was drawn under the management of five responsi- 
ble persons. The tickets to be drawn were marked with 
the numbers of the land lots, and these were put into 
boxes with numerous blanks. Those who were fortu- 
nate enough to draw numbered tickets were entitled to 
plats and grants of their lots, signed by the governor. 



i8o 

The lots were not all of the same size. Some contained 
202^ acres, others 490 acres. Twelve months after the 
drawing was completed, the fortunate person was re- 
quired to pay into the State treasury four dollars for 
every hundred acres contained in his lot. 

Many of those who had the good fortune to draw 
prizes in the land-lottery scheme paid the necessary 
amount of money, and received titles to their land lots ; 
but many others neglected to j^ay in the money, and 
thus forfeited their titles. 

It has been said that the land hunger of the j^eople 
at this time was both selfish and sordid ; but if we come 
to look at the matter closely, selfishness is behind much 
of the material progress that the world has made. The 
selfishness of individuals is not more conspicuous than 
the selfishness of communities, commonwealths, and 
nations. In history we find the rumseller, the land 
grabber, and the speculator following hard upon the 
heels of the missionary. The selfishness of nations is 
frequently given the name of '* patriotism," and rightly 
so, since it is a movement for the good of all. 

When Georgia had fairly begun to recover from the 
disastrous results of the War for Independence, the 
troubles that resulted in the War of 18 12 began to 
make themselves felt. France and England were at 
war ; and the United States Government tried to re- 
main neutral, giving aid to neither the one nor the 
other. But this was not pleasing to either of these 
great powers. Both were interested in the trade and 
commerce of this country, and both issued orders affect- 
ing American affairs. The United States resented the 



i8i 



interference, and protested against it. Great Britain, 
with an arrogance made bitter by the remembrance of 
her humihating defeat at the hands of a few feeble 
Colonies, replied to 
the American protest, 
declaring that Amer- 
ican ships would still 
be searched, and 
American sailors .im- 
pressed into the ser- 
vice of the British, 
wherever found on 
the high seas. In 
1807 a British man- 
of-war fired on an 
American merchant 
vessel as it was leav- 
ing harbor. Three 
men were killed, 
eighteen wounded, 
and four sailors 
seized. This outrage 
inflamed the whole 
country, and in De- 
cember of that year 
Congress passed a 
law preventing Amer- 
ican vessels from 

leaving their ports to trade with foreign nations. 
This law was deeply resented by the New Eng- 
land States, and they held at Hartford, Conn., 




l82 

the first secession convention that ever met in this 
country. 

Georgia was foremost among the States to denounce 
and resist the aggressive acts of Great Britain. In 
1808 the Legislature sent an address to the President 
of the United States, approving the measures he had 
taken, and declared that the people of Georgia were 
strong in their independence, and proud of their gov- 
ernment, and that they would never wish to see the 
lives and property of their brethren exposed to the 
insult and rapacity of a foreign power ; but if the war 
should come, they would, in proportion to their number 
and resources, give zealous aid to the government of 
their choice. 

The British, meanwhile, made arrangements to force 
a cotton trade with Georgia and South Carolina, and 
for the purpose fitted out a number of vessels of from 
ten to fifteen guns each. These vessels were to be 
employed in opening the ports of Georgia and Carolina. 
A war brig anchored at Tybee, and two of its offi- 
cers went to Savannah. When they had made known 
their purpose, they were peremptorily ordered away. 
They returned to their vessel and put to sea ; but as 
they were leaving, they fired at a pilot boat in the 
harbor, and committed other outrages. 

This incident and others aroused the indignation of 
the people. The Legislature passed resolutions, ad- 
dressed to the President of the United States, declar- 
ing that all hope of a peaceful termination of the 
difficulty had been lost, that the duty of the United 
States was to maintain its sovereign rights against 



i83 

the despots of Europe, and that the citizens of Georgia 
would ever be found in readiness to assert the rights 
and support the dignity of the country whenever called 
on by the General Government. By the time the treaty 
of peace was made, the day before Christmas in 1814, 
the war spirit in Georgia had been roused to the highest 
pitch by the numerous outrages committed by the 
Indian allies of the British. 

But the story of the Indian troubles belongs to a 
chapter by itself. 



THE CREEKS AND THE CREEK WAR. 




F all the stories of the 
troubles of the early set- 
tlers of Georgia with the Indians 
could be written out, they would 
fill a very large book. All the whites 
with whom the red men came in 
contact in Georgia were not as just, 
as generous, and as unselfish as James Edward Ogle- 
thorpe. On the other hand, not all the Indians with 
whom the whites had dealings were as wise and as 
honest as old Tomochichi. Consequently misunder- 
standings arose, and prejudices grew and developed. 
This was greatly helped by dishonest traders and 
speculators, who were keen to take advantage of the 
ignorance of the Indians. 

The controlling influence among the Indians in 
Georgia was the Creek Confederacy (or nation) ; and 

184 



i8s 

this, in turn, was practically controlled by the Musco- 
gees. North of the Creeks, Broad River being the 
dividing line, lived the Cherokees, a nation even more 
warlike than the Creeks. The impression made upon 
the Indians by Oglethorpe and some of his more pru- 
dent successors, made them the strong friends of the 
British. Of course, the red men were unable to appre- 
ciate the merits of the quarrel between the Georgia 
settlers and King George : but, even if matters had 
been different, they would probably have remained on 
friendly terms with the Royalists ; for Governor Wright, 
who was a wise as well as a good man, took great 
pains, when the Liberty Boys began their agitations 
against the Crown, to conciliate the Indians, and to 
show them that the King was their friend. What was 
known as "the royal presents" were promptly sent 
from England, and promptly delivered to and distrib- 
uted among the Indians. The governor sent for the 
chiefs, and had conferences with them ; so that when 
the Revolution began, the Upper and the Lower Creeks, 
and the Cherokees as well, were the firm friends of the 
British. During the Revolution, as we have already 
seen, they made constant and unprovoked attacks on 
the patriots, burning their houses, carrying off their 
cattle, and murdering their helpless women and chil- 
dren. These raids were continued even after the Ameri- 
cans had compelled. Great Britain to recognize their 
independence, and hundreds of incidents might be given 
to show the ferocity with which the savages attacked 
the whites. In many cases the settlements were com- 
pelled to build stockades, in which the people took 



i86 

shelter, for safety as well as defense, whenever there 
was an alarm. 

On one occasion shortly after the close of the war, 
the Indians attacked the family of a man named 
William Tyner, who was living in what is known as 
Elbert County. Tyner himself was absent, and his 
family was entirely without protection. Mrs. Tyner 
was killed, the brains of her youngest child were 
dashed out against a tree, and another child was 
scalped and left for dead. A young boy named Noah, 
the son of Mr. Tyner, escaped in the general confusion, 
and hid himself in a hollow tree. This tree was for 
many years known as *' Noah's Ark." Mary and Tamar, 
two daughters, were suffered to live ; but the Indians 
carried them off to the Coweta towns on the Chatta- 
hoochee. These children remained with the Indians 
several years. John Manack, an Indian trader, saw 
them there, and purchased Mary. He then brought 
her to Elbert County, and afterwards made her his 
wife. He returned to the Indian nation shortly after- 
wards, and tried to purchase Tamar; but, as she was 
useful to the Indians in bringing wood and fuel for 
their fires, they refused to sell her. When Manack 
went away, an old Indian woman, who was fond of 
Tamar, learned that the Indians, suspecting the girl 
was preparing to escape, had decided to burn her at 
the stake. The old woman helped her to escape by 
providing her with provisions and a canoe. She also 
gave Tamar directions how to go down the Chatta- 
hoochee. By day the fleeing girl hid herself in the 
thick swamps along the banks of the river, and by 



i87 

night she floated down the river in her canoe. She 
finally reached Apalachicola Bay, took passage on a 
vessel, and shortly afterwards arrived at Savannah. 
Here she was assisted to her home in Elbert County 
by the citizens. She married a man named Hunt, 
and no doubt many of her descendants are still living 
in Georgia. 

There was once an Indian village in Troup County, 
on the west bank of the Chattahoochee, where the 
Indians who lived on the Alabama side of the river 
were in the habit of meeting before and after their 
raids upon the white settlements. Before the raids 
they would meet there to arrange their programme ; 
and afterwards they would assemble at the village to 
count the scalps they had taken, dispose of their pris- 
oners, and divide the spoils. On one occasion, after a 
very destructive raid into the white settlements, the 
Indians returned to this village, and began to celebrate 
the success with which they had been able to creep 
upon the settlements at dead of night, murder the 
unsuspecting whites, burn their dwellings, and drive 
off their horses and cattle. This time, however, the 
Indians had been followed by a few hundred men, 
under the leadership of General David Adams, who 
was at that time a major in the militia, and a scout. 
Major Adams had taken part in the closing scenes of 
the Revolution when quite a young man. When the 
Creeks renewed their depredations after the war, Major 
Adams, both as a scout and as a leader, fought the 
Indians with such success as to win distinction. 

He followed the Indians on this occasion with a few 



i88 

hundred men, who had volunteered to accompany him. 
His pursuit was not active. The men under him were 
not seasoned soldiers ; and even if they had been, the 
force of Indians was too large to justify an attack. 
Major Adams followed the Indians in the hope that he 
and his men would find an opportunity to surprise them. 
The Indians marched straight for the village on the 
west bank of the Chattahoochee, about eight miles 
beyond the point where La Grange now stands. At 
this village, which was the central point of the Lower 
Creek nation at that time, there were many Indians — 
men, women, and children — awaiting the return of the 
raiders. It was in the late afternoon when they reached 
the village, and as the sun went down they began the 
celebration of their victories ; and in this they were 
joined by the Indians, who had been waiting for their 
return. 

Major Adams had halted his command a few miles 
from the river, where he waited until night fell. He 
then advanced silently to the banks of the stream, 
which was not so wide that he and his men could not 
see the Indians dancing around their fires, and hear 
their whoops and yells. On one bank stood the men 
whose families and friends had been murdered ; on the 
opposite shore, and almost within a stone's throw, the 
red murderers danced and howled in savage delight. 

For half the night, at least, the orgies were kept up 
by the Indians ; but at last they grew weary of the 
song and dance. Their fires slowly died out, and there 
came a moment when the whites, who were watching 
and waiting, could hear nothing but the murmur of the 



1 89 

flowing water, as it rippled over the shoals or lapped 
the bank. The time had come to strike a blow, if a 
blow was to be struck. It was characteristic of Major 
Adams, that, instead of sending one of his little party 
to find out the position of the village and its surround- 
ings, so as to be able to make a swift, sudden, and an 
effective attack, he himself proposed to go. 

It was a hazardous undertaking, and required a bold 
heart to undertake it. Major Adams knew there was 
a ford near the point where his men lay. The trail led 
into the river ; but, once in the river, it was lost. He 
had to find the ford for himself, and it proved to be a 
very narrow and difficult one. It led in a direct line 
across the river nearly halfway, and then turned down 
the stream in an oblique direction. A part of the ford 
was over a slippery shoal. At some points the water 
was knee-deep, at others it was chin-deep. 

With great difficulty Major Adams reached the oppo- 
site bank in safety. The paths leading from the ford 
into the swamp that lay between the Indian village and 
the river were so numerous that the stout-hearted scout 
hardly knew which one to take. He chose one almost 
at random, and, after following it through the thick 
underbrush, he found that it had led him some distance 
below the village. He followed the margin of the 
swamp back again, and soon found himself in the out- 
skirts of the village. There he paused to listen. A 
dog somewhere in the settlement barked uneasily and 
sleepily. 

Pushing forward, but moving with the utmost cau- 
tion, Major Adams soon found himself in the center of 



190 

the village. In every hut the Indians were sleeping; 
and, in addition to these, the ground seemed to be cov- 
ered with warriors, who lay stretched out and snoring, 
their rifles and tomahawks within easy reach. The 
brave Georgian went through the village from one end 
to the other. Once a huge Indian, near whom he was 
passing, raised himself on his elbow, grasped his gun, 
and looked carefully in every direction. Having satis- 




fied himself, he lay down, and was soon snoring again. 
Fortunately, Major Adams had seen the Indian stir, 
and sank to the ground near a group of sleeping war- 
riors, where he remained until he was sure the savage 
was asleep. 

He had examined every point of attack and defense in 
the village, and was returning to the river, when he saw 
a pony tethered to a sapling. Thinking that the little 
animal would be able to find the ford without trouble. 



191 

and could thus be used as a safe guide, Major Adams 
resolved to capture it. He approached the pony with 
that intention, but not until too late did he discover 
that it had a bell hung on its neck. The pony, fright- 
ened at the sight of a white man, broke the rope by 
which he was tied, and went scampering through the 
village, arousing and alarming warriors, squaws, chil- 
dren, and dogs with the jingling bell. 

At the sound of the bell. Major Adams knew that 
there would be a tremendous uproar in the village, and 
he made an instant rush toward the river, but soon 
found himself entangled in the briers and thick under- 
brush of the swamp. It w^as fortunate that he missed 
the path leading to the ford ; for a party of Indians 
ran in that direction, either to catch the pony, or to find 
out whether they were about to be attacked. Some of 
them passed within a few feet of the spot where Major 
Adams stood. 

In a short time the Indians returned to the village, 
and it was not long before everything was as quiet 
and as peaceful as before the uproar. Major Adams, 
instead of hunting for the path, made his way directly 
to the river, slipped into the water, and swam straight 
across to the opposite bank. He soon found his 
men, and told them of his adventure and of the 
plans he had matured. Up to this moment he had 
been second in command. A colonel of militia was 
with the party, and it was his right to be the leader 
of the expedition ; but now the men declared that 
they would cross the river under the leadership of 
no one but Adams. It was Adams or nobody; and 



192 

the militia colonel, as gracefully as he could, yielded 
to the demand. 

Major Adams led the volunteers safely across the 
treacherous ford and into the Indian town. The sur- 
prise was complete. Scarcely a warrior escaped. The 
women and children were spared as far as possible, 
but the village was burned to the ground. In retreat- 
ing from that point, which was the center of the famous 
Muscogee nation, Major Adams made long marches 
during the day, and camped without fires at night, and 
in this way brought his command out of th: Indian 
cguntry without the loss of a man. 

But Adams's excursion to the center of the Muscogee 
(or Creek) nation did not settle matters. The troubles 
continued. The temper of the people was not im- 
proved by the efforts of the United States Government 
to take affairs into its own hands. In some instances 
the agents of the General G.overnment sought to stir up 
active strife between the people of the State and the 
Indians, and it was their habit to belittle the State gov- 
ernment by speaking of it contemptuously before the 
Indians. In many instances the United States stepped 
in between the agents of the State and the Indians, and 
prevented settlements and treaties that would have been 
of lasting benefit to both the whites and the Indians. 
This was not due to any purpose or desire of the Gen- 
eral Government to trample on the rights of the State, 
but grew altogether out of the folly of the agents, who 
wanted to put on airs and advertise their importance. 

In 1796 there was a treaty of peace arranged be- 
tween the Creek nation and the United States. Three 



193 

commissioners represented the General Government, 
and Georgia also had three present ; but the business 
was conducted without regard to the wishes of the 
Georgia commissioners, and, as the commissioners 
thought, without regard to the interests of the State. 
Seagrove was the name of the agent representing the 
General Government at that time, and his attitude 
toward Georgia was not calculated to give the Indians 
any respect for the commonwealth. After the treaty 
was signed. General James Jackson, on the part of 
Georgia, made an eloquent speech, in which he showed 
that the Creeks had not faithfully observed the treaties 
they had made with the State. He exhibited two 
schedules of property which they had stolen, amount- 
ing in value to $110,000, and demanded its restoration. 
When General Jackson had concluded, one of the prom- 
inent chiefs of the Creeks remarked that he could fill 
more paper than Jackson showed with a list of outrages 
of the Georgians upon his people. There was some- 
thing more than a grain of truth in this ; but on that 
very account the Indians and the Georgians should 
have been allowed to settle their difficulties in their 
own way, without the interference of the United 
States. 

The result of the treaty at Coleraine, in 1796, was, 
that the Georgia agents were offended with Seagrove 
(the Indian agent for the United States), offended with 
the Indians, and displeased with the United States com- 
missioners. To these last the Georgians presented a 
protest in which the Federal commissioners were accused 
of disregarding the interests of Georgia. Charges were 

STO. OF GA. — 13 



194 

brought against Seagrove, who, it was claimed, had 
influenced the Creeks not to cede the lands as far as 
the Ocmulgee. A bitter controversy grew out of this. 
It was, in fact, very nearly the beginning of the discus- 
sion that has continued from that day to this, in some 
shape or other, over the rights of the States and the 
power of the General Government. Pickett, in his 
*' History of Alabama and Georgia," says that General 
Jackson, and Seagrove the Indian agent, became ene- 
mies, and afterwards fought a duel. 

Other treaties were made with the Creeks up to 1806, 
but all these were violated when the Indians became 
the allies of the British during the War of 18 12. It is 
only fair to the Indians to say that the leader in whom 
they placed the greatest confidence was a man who for 
many years nourished hot resentment against the United 
States, and especially against Georgia. This man was 
General Alexander McGillivray, who became famous as 
an opponent of the Americans and the Georgians in all 
their efforts to come to a just, fair, and peaceable under- 
standing with the Creeks. 

As has been stated, when the War of 18 12 began, the 
Creeks became the allies of the British, and the attacks 
they made on the unprotected settlements were so 
numerous and so serious as to call for some action on 
the part of the General Government. In September, 
1813, Congress called for a levy of Georgia troops, and 
the State authorities ordered 3,600 men to assemble at 
Camp Hope, near Fort Hawkins, on the Ocmulgee 
River. The ruins of Fort Hawkins may be seen to 
this day on the Ocmulgee, near the city of Milledge- 



195 

ville. The men who assembled at Camp Hope were 
volunteers, and all eager for service. The command of 
this force fell to General John Floyd, who made haste 
to take charge, and endeavored to make arrangements 
for taking the field at once. He found his men assem- 
bled according to orders, and all anxious to be led 
against the hostile Indians. But the little army could 
not march. The Federal Government had failed to 
supply the necessary funds. What is called '* red 
tape" stood in the way of prompt action. A dispute 
arose. Federal officials placed the blame on the con- 
tractors who were to furnish supplies, and the con- 
tractors placed it on the officials, who had failed to 
furnish the necessary money. While this dispute was 
raging. General Floyd, who was a brave and gallant 
spirit, applied to the State Legislature, then in session, 
for a loan of $20,000. The request was granted, and 
he was able to equip his troops, procure supplies, and 
march into the country of the Creeks, by the middle or 
latter part of November. 

Meanwhile the hostile Creeks had already challenged 
Georgia and begun their attack. On the 30th of Au- 
gust, seven hundred and twenty-five Creek Indians 
attacked Fort Mims on the Ch att a ^ooebe^. The at- 
tack was as sudden as it was unexpected. It was 
made at twelve o'clock in the day, and the inmates of 
the fort were taken entirely by surprise. The sav- 
ages massacred nearly three hundred men, women, 
and children in the most cruel manner. This hor- 
rible outrage spread consternation on the frontier, and 
aroused indignation in all parts of the country. Hun- 



196 

dreds of frontier settlers tied from their homes, and 
sought safety in the more thickly settled regions. 

It was owing to this massacre that the troops com- 
manded by General Floyd were called out. This active 
and energetic leader began his campaign by building a 
line of forts and blockhouses from the Ocmulgee to the- 
Alabama River, and in this way completely protected 
the northern part of the State from invasion by the 
Creeks. General Floyd accomplished this work in 
spite of the failure of the United States officials to 
supply with provisions and transportation the troops 
they had called out. 

He completed his line of defense by building Fort 
Mitchell. Leaving a sufficient garrison in this fort, 
General Floyd placed himself at the head of nine 
hundred and fifty men, and marched on Autossee, one 
of the most populous towns of the Creek nation, situ- 
ated on the left bank of the Tallapoosa River, and 
near the town of Tallassee, which was nearly as large. 
The distance from Fort Mitchell to Autossee was sixty 
miles, and General Floyd made it by forced night 
marches, resting his troops during the day. He was 
accompanied on this expedition by General William 
Mcintosh, the famous Indian chief, who led four hun- 
dred friendly Creeks. 

Arriving at Autossee and Tallassee at daybreak on 
the 29th of November, 18 13, General Floyd arranged 
and ordered a simultaneous attack on both towns. By 
nine o'clock the Indians had been defeated and driven 
from the towns, and their houses burned. Four hun- 
dred houses were burned, with all the provisions and 



197 

stock. Two hundred Indians were killed, including 
the kings of both towns. The pipe which the old 
chief of Tallassee had smoked at a treaty forty years 
before, was taken and presented to the governor, who 
placed it in the executive office of the State Capitol. 
Eleven whites were killed, and fifty-four wounded ; 
among them, General Floyd himself, who had received 
a ball in ihe knee early in the fight. He refused to 
have his wound dressed, and continued on horseback, 
directing his troops, until after the battle was over. He 
never entirely recovered from the effects of this wound. 
After the towns had been entirely destroyed, the troops 
returned to Fort Mitchell, having marched a hundred 
and twenty miles in bitter cold weather, and fought 
a severe engagement on five days' provisions. 

In January, 1814, General Floyd heard that the 
Upper Creeks had collected in great force at the In- 
dian town of Hothlewaulee. By that time his wound 
had so far healed that he was able to ride a horse, and 
he determined to make an attack on the town. For 
this purpose he detached from the troops at Fort 
Mitchell a force of fifteen hundred men, The weather 
was cold, and the winter rains had so obstructed the 
roads that the troops found the march a weary and a 
difficult one ; but they pressed on, nevertheless, cheered 
by the energy and enthusiasm of their gallant leader. 
They marched to within fifteen or twenty miles of the 
town, and there encamped. Between midnight and day 
a large body of Indians, led by the warrior Weather- 
ford and Colonel Woodbine, an luiglish officer, attacked 
General Moyd's camj). His troops were taken by sur- 



198 

prise, but they were not demoralized. They had been 
fighting for six months, and were seasoned to all the dan- 
gers of Indian warfare. Above all, they had a leader 
who possessed in a wonderful degree a genius for war. 

No sooner had the alarm been sounded than General 
Floyd rallied his little army, formed it in a square, the 
baggage in the center, and held the savages at bay until 
daylight. There was no faltering in any part of the 
line or on any side of the square. The dauntless cour- 
age of Floyd himself seemed to control every man, 
down to the humblest private. When day dawned, a 
charge was sounded, and Floyd's troops drove the In- 
dians before them at the point of the bayonet. Within 
a quarter of an hour after the charge was made, the 
battle was won. The loss of the Indians was never 
discovered, as they had an opportunity to carry off 
their killed and wounded up to the moment the charge 
was sounded. Seventeen Georgians were killed, and a 
hundred and thirty-two wounded. Floyd's camp was 
known as Camp Defiance, but in the official report 
the fight is called the battle of Chalibbee. The at- 
tack was made on Floyd in order to prevent a junc- 
tion between his troops and those of General Andrew 
Jackson, who was fighting the Indians in the l oivcr part 
of Alabama. The result of the fight made a junction 
unnecessary ; and shortly afterwards the term for which 
Floyd's Georgia troops had enlisted expired, and they 
were discharged. 

In 1 8 14, when peace was declared between the 
United States and Great Britain, the Creeks remained 
quiet for some time. 



TWO FAMOUS INDIAN CHIEFS. 

AMONG the Indian leaders who made Georgia the 
scene of their operations, the most celebrated 
were General Alexander McGillivray and General 
William Mcintosh. If these men "had been born and 
brought up among the- whites, both of them would 
have won lasting renown. They possessed the energy 
and the genius : all they lacked was the opportunity 
to direct their gifts into channels that would have bene- 
fited humanity. 

Alexander McGillivray was one of the most remark- 
able men of his time, whether we regard him as a leader 
of the Indians or simply as an individual. His father, 
Lachlan McGillivray, being a lad of adventurous turn, 
ran away from a home in Scotland where he enjoyed 
all the advantages and comforts that wealth could give 
him, took passage on a ship bound for South Carolina, 
and shortly afterwards landed at Charleston. Wander- 
ing about in that city, and enjoying the sights that 
were new to his experience, he soon found himself in 
the suburbs of the city. There he found the head- 
quarters of the Indian traders, who came to Charles- 
ton with their pack horses to carry merchandise of 
all kinds to the red men. One of these traders per- 
suaded young McGillivray to go with him. His Scotch 

199 



200 



eye and mind were quick to appreciate the possibilities 
of this new business, and in a few years he became one 
of the most enterprising and prosperous of the Indian 
traders. He pushed his trade farther than any of his 
predecessors had ever dared to go. He went, indeed, to 
the neighborhood of Fort Toulouse. A few miles above 
that fort, where Wetumpka, Ala., now stands, he met 
Sehoy Marchand, a beautiful girl of about sixteen years. 
This girl was the daughter of Captain Marchand, who 
had commanded at Fort Toulouse, but who had been 
killed by his own soldiers in August, 1722. The soldiers 
rose against the officers of the garrison on account of 
the failure of France to forward money and supplies 
to the troops in her American settlement. The girl's 
mother was a Creek woman of the tribe of The Wind, 
the most powerful and influential family in the Creek 
nation. The young Scotchman fell in love with the 
dark-haired maiden, and she fell in love with the blue- 
eyed Scotchman, with his fair skin and red hair. Lach- 
lan McGillivray built him a trading house on the Coosa, 
not far away, and soon married Sehoy, and carried her 
home. He became very wealthy. He owned two 
plantations on the Savannah River, which were well 
stocked with negroes, and stores filled with merchan- 
dise in both Savannah and Augusta. When Lachlan 
McGillivray's son Alexander reached the age of four- 
teen, he was carried to Savannah and placed at school, 
and in a few years was made a clerk in a counting- 
house at Savannah. 

But the humdrum busin'ess of buying, selling, and 
adding up long rows of tiresome figures, did not please 



2or 



him, and so he neglected his duties to read books, 
mainly histories. His father, taking the advice of 
friends, placed young Alexander under the tutorship 
of a clergyman in Charleston, where the lad learned 
Latin and Greek, and in that way became well grounded 
in what our dear old grandfathers called polite litera- 
ture. But one day word came to the 
young man that the chiefs of the 
Creek nation, who were getting into 
trouble with the people of Georgia, 
were waiting for the moment when 
he, as a descendant of the tribe 
of The Wind, should return 
and take charge of the affairs 
of the nation. So he departed 
suddenly from Charleston, and 
turned his horse's head toward 
the wilderness. 

On his way to the Creek 
nation, he fell in with Leclerc Mil- 
fort, an adventurous Frenchman, 
who afterwards wrote a book of 
travels, and was made a general 
of brigade by Napoleon. Milfort 

married one of McGillivray's sisters, was made Tustenug- 
gee (or grand war chief), and was the right-hand man of 
his powerful brother-in-law. The first that was heard 
of McGillivray after he left Charleston, he was presiding 
at a grand national council of the Creeks at the town of 
Coweta on the Chattahoochee. When Alexander arrived 
among the Creeks, Colonel Tait of the l^ritish army was 




■L'2 '^*'. W^4^ 




202 

stationed on the Coosa, and he used all his tact and 
influence to prevail upon the young man to take the 
side of the English in the war that was then going 
on between the Colonies a'nd the mother country. To 
this end Colonel Tait pursued McGillivray with atten- 
tions, loaded him with favors, and finally caused him 
to be given the rank and pay of a colonel in the 
army. The result was that the great chief was 
throughout the war devoted to the cause of the 
British. This would have been natural in any event, 
for his father w^as a stanch Royalist. During the 
war, McGillivray frequently acted in concert with the 
notorious Daniel McGirth, sometimes leading his In- 
dians in person ; but his main dependence was on his 
brother-in-law Milfort, who was possessed of the most 
daring - spirit. McGillivray preferred to plan and 
engage in intrigue, which gave the remarkable powers 
of his mind full play. 

There is no doubt that the authorities of Georgia 
made a great mistake, after the war, in neglecting to 
win the friendship of McGillivray. Such a course 
would have prevented much suffering and bloodshed. 
The father of the great chief, Lachlan McGillivray, 
was living in Savannah at the close of the Revolution ; 
and w^hen the British were compelled to evacuate the 
city, he scraped together an immense amount of money 
and other valuables, and sailed for Scotland. He aban- 
doned his plantations and negroes, in the hope that his 
wife and three children might be permitted to inherit 
them ; but the Georgians confiscated the whole of the 
valuable estate^ and thus the Creek leader had another 



203 

reason for entertaining a bitter prejudice against the 
Whigs. 

The result was, that until the day of his death, which 
occurred in 1792, he succeeded in baffling all the efforts 
of the Federal and State authorities to come to an 
understanding with the Creek nation. He was perhaps 
the most accomplished diplomat in the country, — a 
veritable Talleyrand, able to cope with the most distin- 
guished statesmen among the Americans. Such of his 
letters as have been preserved do not suffer by com- 
parison with the writings of even the greatest of the 
Americans. The most of these depended on a stately 
and scholarly diction to attract attention. McGillivray 
paid little regard to diction ; but his letters possess the 
distinction of style, and in this particular but one 
American writer can be compared to him, — Benjamin 
Franklin. There is, in fact, a modern touch and flavor 
about McGillivray's letters that even the writings of 
Franklin do not possess. He wrote thus to Andrew 
Pickens, who had addressed him on behalf of the 
United States Government : — 

''When we found that the American independence was confirmed 
by the peace, we expected that the new government would soon 
have taken some steps to make up the differences that subsisted 
between them and the Indians during the war, to have taken them 
under their protection and confirmed to them their hunting grounds. 
Such a course would have reconciled the minds of the Indians, and 
secured the Slates their friendship, as they considered your people 
their natural allies. The Georgians, whose particular interest it 
was to conciliate the friendship of this nation, have acted in all 
respects to the contrary. I am sorry to observe that violence and 
prejudice have taken the place of good policy and reason in all 



204 

their proceedings with us. They attempted to avail themselves of 
our supposed distressed situation. Their talks to us breathed 
nothing but vengeance, and, being entirely possessed with the idea 
that we were wholly at their mercy, they never once reflected that 
colonies of a powerful monarch were nearly surrounding us, to 
whom, in any extremity, we might apply for succor and protection, 
and who, to answer some ends of their policy, might grant it to us. 
However, we yet deferred any such proceeding, still expecting that 
we could bring them to a true sense of their interest ; but still 
finding no alteration in their conduct towards us, we sought the 
protection of Spain, and treaties of friendship and alliance were 
mutually entered into ; they guaranteeing our hunting grounds and 
territory, and granting us a free trade in the ports of the Floridas. 

^' How the boundary and limits between the Spaniards and the 
States will be determined, a little time will show, as I believe that 
matter is now on foot. However, we know our limits and the 
extent of our hunting grounds. As a free nation, we have applied, 
as w^e had a right to do, for protection, and obtained it. We shall 
pay no attention to any limits that may prejudice our claims, that 
were drawn by an American and confirmed by a British negotiator. 
Yet, notwithstanding we have been obliged to adopt these measures 
for our preservation, and from real necessity, we sincerely wish to 
have it in our power to be on the same footing with the States as 
before the late unhappy war, to effect which is entirely in your 
power. We want nothing from you but justice. We want our 
hunting grounds preserved from encroachments. They have been 
ours from the beginning of time, and I trust that, with the assist- 
ance of our friends, we shall be able to maintain them against every 
attempt to take them from us." 

Undoubtedly McGillivray was unscrupulous, and the 
probability is that he was mercenary ; but such charges 
may be brought against some of the ablest men who 
have figured in history. When all is said, the fact 
remains that Alexander McGillivray^ was one of the 



205 

most accomplished and ingenious of the ^politicians of 
his time. If he had been on the side of the whites, and 
had managed their interests with the skill and ability 
which he displayed in behalf of the Creeks, history 
would have written him down as a great statesman. 
It was only by an accidental suit at law that some 
of his most characteristic letters were brought to 
light ; but those that have been rescued from oblivion 
show that in wielding the pen he was more than 
a match for the many able men who corresponded 
with him. 

In September, 1789, Washington sent General An- 
drew Pickens, with three other commissioners, to treat 
with McGillivray. They found the great chief at Rock 
Landing, on the Oconee, with two thousand Creek war- 
riors, where he had been encamped more than a week. 
The Indian camp was on the western bank of the river. 
The commissioners pitched their tents on the eastern 
bank. They were received by McGillivray with great 
courtesy. Everything progressed favorably, so much 
so that the commissioners read to the assembled chiefs 
a copy of the treaty which they had drawn up. This 
treaty was all in favor of the whites. The Indians 
were offered no equivalent for .the terms proposed. It 
is worth)/ of note that Andrew Pickens wholly dissented 
from the terms of the proposed treaty. He knew that 
the Indians would have to be paid for the valuable land 
which the Georgians were then cultivating in the neigh- 
borhood of the Oconee, and the commissioners had 
been advised by the Federal authorities to pay for 
these lands. McGillivray broke up his encampment 



2o6 

and retired to the Ocmulgee, nor could he be induced 
at that time to renew the negotiations. 

President Washington was urged by the Georgia dele- 
gation in Congress to declare war against the Creeks, 
and this indeed was his first impulse ; but when he 
found, from a careful estimate, that the expenses of 
such a war would amount to fifteen millions of dollars, 
he prudently gave up the idea. He took the matter 
in hand in a more conservative way. He appointed 
Colonel Marinus Willett a secret agent to visit Mc- 
Gillivray, and urge him to visit President Washington 
in New York. In this Colonel Willett was entirely 
successful. Accompanied by McGillivray and a num- 
ber of the leading men of the Creeks, Willett set out 
on his return journey. At Guilford Court House, 
McGillivray attracted great attention on account of a 
very pathetic incident that occurred there some years 
before. A man nanied Brown had been killed by the 
Creeks, and his wife and children captured and made 
slaves. Their unfortunate condition came to the notice 
of Alexander McGillivray, and, as he had done in the 
case of many other captive white women and children, 
he paid their ransom and redeemed them from slavery. 
He maintained them at his house for over a year, and 
finally assisted them to return to their friends. Mrs. 
Brown, hearing that McGillivray had arrived, went to 
see him. At that moment he was in the courthouse, 
the center of a large assembly of ladies and gentlemen 
who had gathered to pay their respects. But this was 
no obstacle to Mrs. Brown. She rushed through the 
assembly, and, in a flood of tears, expressed her grati- 



20/ 

tilde to him for saving her Hfe and the Uves of her 
children. She also expressed her strong admiration 
for his character. 

In due course, McGillivray arrived in New York, 
where he was treated with great consideration. He 
had long private conferences with Washington and 
other officials of the government, and was finally 
induced to make a treaty which was satisfactory to 
the United States, and would have been satisfactory 
to Georgia if it had been carried out, but in fact the 
terms of it were never fulfilled. While in New York, 
McGillivray made a secret treaty with Washington, a 
fact that was not discovered for many years. . It pro- 
vided, that after two years from date (August, 1790) 
the commerce of the Creek nation should be carried 
on through the ports of the United States, and in the 
mean time through the present channels; that a num- 
ber of chiefs of the Creeks and of the Seminole nation 
should be paid one hundred dollars a year each, and 
be furnished with handsome medals ; that the United 
States should feed, clothe, and educate Creek youth 
at the North, not exceeding five at one time ; and that 
Alexander McGillivray should be constituted agent of 
the- United States, with the rank of brigadier general, 
and the pay of twelve hundred dollars a year. In 
1792, McGillivray was a British colonel, an American 
brigadier general, an agent of the United States, and 
an agent of Spain. This extraordinary man died in 
Pensacola on the 17th of February, having been seized 
with a fatal illness while returning from one of his 
plantations on Little River in Putnam or Baldwin. 



208 

Another famous Creek was General William Mcin- 
tosh, a half-breed. His father was Captain William 
Mcintosh, and his mother was an Indian of unmixed 
blood. He was not so brilliant a man intellectually as 
McGillivray ; but he had a native force of character, 
and an inborn sense of justice, that McGillivray seems 
to have been a stranger to. History tells us little 
enough of Mcintosh, but that little is all to his credit. 
Almost from the days of Oglethorpe, there were two 
parties in the Creek nation, and the issue on which 
they divided was the treatment that should be accorded 
to the whites. The party division was geographical as 
well as political. The Upper Creeks, living upon the 
Alabama, Coosa, and Tallapoosa rivers, were not pres- 
ent at the Coweta town when James Oglethorpe treated 
with the Lower Creeks in August, 1730. At that 
time they were under the influence of the French, 
and afterwards they sought the protection of the Span- 
iards. They refused to recognize any of the treaties 
made by the Lower Creeks with the English, and the 
great body of them remained to the end the bitter 
enemies of the Georgians. On the other hand, the 
majority of the Lower Creeks were friendly with the 
EngHsh from the days of Oglethorpe; and that friend- 
ship continued, with but few interruptions, down to the 
days of Governor Troup. 

Now, McGillivray, in his day and time, representee 
the Upper Creeks of the Tallapoosa country and their 
poHcy, while William Mcintosh represented the Lower 
Creeks of the Coweta country and their policy. The 
division in the Creek nation was so serious, that, when 



209 

the Upper Creeks took sides with the British in the 
War of 1 8 12, they found themselves opposed in the 
field by a large party of Lower Creeks under the com- 
mand of Mcintosh. Thus, at the battle of Autossee, 
William Mcintosh led a large band of Lower Creeks 
against those who were making war on the whites. He 
made himself so conspicuous in that affair, that General 
Floyd mentions him in the official report of the battle. 

The treaty at Indian Spring, and the results that 
followed, cannot be clearly understood unless we bear 
in mind the political differences that existed between 
the Upper and the Lower Creeks. The Creek chiefs 
and the commissioners met at Indian Spring on the 
15th of February, 1825. The chiefs and warriors of 
the Upper Creeks declared that no treaty could be 
made for a cession of lands, and on the night of the 
I ith they went home. On the 12th a treaty was signed 
with the Mcintosh party. Colonel John A. Crowell, 
agent for the Creek Indians, sent a letter to the secre- 
tary of war, in which he declared that the treaty was 
in direct opposition to the letter and spirit of the in- 
structions to the commissioners ; but the treaty was 
sent to Washington, and was ratified on the 3d of 
March, 1825. When the Indians of the Upper Creeks 
and their party learned that the treaty had been rati- 
fied, they became very much excited. 'Mcintosh and 
his party went to Millcdgeville, and told the governor 
that they expected violent treatment at the hands of 
the Upper Creeks. They begged the protection of the 
State and of the United States, and this was promised 
them. 

STo. OF (;a. — 14 



2IO 

Out of this treaty grew a very serious conflict between 
the Federal and State governments. After a good deal 
of discussion, the President asked Congress to recon- 
sider the treaty of Indian Spring, and presented a new 
one as a substitute, which was ratified and proclaimed ; 
but popular indignation ran so high in Georgia, that 
Governor Troup felt justified in paying no attention to 
this new treaty. He proceeded to carry out the terms 
of the Indian Spring treaty. Charges were brought 
against Crowell, the Indian agent. The governor in- 
formed T. P. Andrews, the special agent, that he would 
hold no further correspondence with him. The con- 
duct of General Gaines- had been such that Governor 
Troup requested the Federal Government to recall, 
arrest, and punish him. In 1826 the State Legislature 
declared that the attempt to repeal the treaty of Indian 
Spring by the substitution of another treaty was illegal 
and unconstitutional. In September, 1826, Governor 
Troup ordered the districts ceded by the treaty of 
Indian Spring to be surveyed. When the Indians com- 
plained of this, the secretary of war wrote to Governor 
Troup that the President felt himself compelled to 
employ all the means under his control to maintain 
the faith of the nation by carrying the treaty into effect, 
meaning the treaty made at Washington, and intended 
to be a substitute for the Indian Spring treaty. In 
his reply. Governor Troup declared that he would feel 
it to be his duty to resist to the utmost any military 
attack which the President of the United States should 
think proper to make upon the Territory, the people, 
or the sovereignty of Georgia. " From the first deci- 



211 

sive act of hostility," he wrote to the secretary of war, 
" you will be considered and treated as a public enemy. 
You have referred me, as the rule of my conduct, to 
the treaty of Washington. In turn I refer you to the 
treaty of prior date and prior ratification, concluded at 
the Indian Spring." 

The President issued orders that the surveyors ap- 
pointed by the State be prosecuted. Governor Troup 
thereupon ordered the proper officers, in every instance 
of complaint made of the arrest of any surveyor, to 
take all necessary and legal measures to effect their 
liberation, and to bring to justice all the parties con- 
cerned in such arrests, as violators of the peace and 
personal security of the State. He also ordered the 
major generals of the militia to hold the various regi- 
ments and battalions in readiness to repel any hostile 
invasion of the State. But no acts of violence were 
committed. The surveyors were not arrested, the sur- 
veys were made, and the lands ceded by the treaty of 
Indian Spring were divided by lottery in 1827. 

The Upper Creeks, who had always been unfriendly 
to the Georgians, were so angry at the signing of the 
treaty of Indian Spring, that they determined to assas- 
sinate General William Mcintosh. They had never for- 
given him for leading his party of Lower Creeks against 
them in the campaign that was made necessary by the 
terrible massacre of Fort Mims, and they now deter- 
mined to rid themselves of him at once and forever. 

We have seen that General Mcintosh, and his party 
of Lower Creeks, suspecting that an attack would be 
made on them by the powerful tribes on the Talla- 



212 

poosa, went to Milledgeville to beg the governor to pro- 
tect them. Protection was promised, but never given. 
Meanwhile the Upper Creeks held a secret council, and 
selected a hundred and seventy of the boldest warriors in 
the nation to murder Mcintosh. They marched in the 
most cautious way. They reached the neighborhood of 
Mcintosh's home, and concealed themselves, to wait for 
night to fall. About sundown, or a little before, the 
Indians saw from their hiding place two persons riding 
along a trail. One was Mcintosh, and the other a man 
named Hawkins, who had married one of Mcintosh's 
daughters. It would have been an easy matter for the 
savages to have killed Mcintosh at this time ; but they 
had made up their minds to kill him upon his own 
premises, so that his blood might stain the land that 
had been granted him by the State. While still in sight 
of the men who had been sent to slay him, Mcintosh 
bade Hawkins good evening, wheeled his horse, and 
rode back on the trail toward his home. Although he 
was now alone, the Indians would not kill him. They 
had fixed up a different plan, and they carried it out. 

Before dark the Indians gathered together a supply 
of "fat lightwood," as the resinous pine was called. 
This they split into convenient length, and made up 
into three bundles to be carried on the backs of their 
warriors. They remained hidden within half a mile of 
Mcintosh's house till three o'clock in the morning, and 
then silently and swiftly marched to the place. They 
had taken along with them a man named James Hutton 
to act as interpreter, the reason for this being that 
Mcintosh was in the habit of entertaining travelers. 



21 



It was to be Hutton's duty to assure such as might be 
found there that they would not be disturbed in any 
manner. Guests of Mcintosh were commonly lodged 
in an outhouse in the yard; and Hutton, accompanied 

by two Indians, went to this 
building to see who might 
be sleeping there. They 
found a peddler in 
one bed, and Chilly, 
a son of General 
Mcintosh, in 
another. 




Young Mcintosh, as if instinctively understanding the 
nature of the visit, sprang from the bed and leaped 
out at a window. He was fired upon by the Indians, 
but was not touched, and succeeded in making his 
escape. The peddler was nearly scared out of his wits; 



214 

but his pack of goods was removed to a place of safety, 
and the house in which he had been sleeping was soon 
in flames. 

Meanwhile most of the Indians had surrounded 
Mcintosh's house, and torches of the fat pine were 
used to set it on fire. The red men danced around the 
burning building, yelling, and crying out, '* Mcintosh, 
we have come, we have come ! We told you if you 
sold the land to the Georgians we would come. Now 
we have come ! " At the first alarm Mcintosh had bar- 
ricaded his front door. He stood near it ; and when it 
was broken down, he fired upon his assailants. At that 
moment, one of his firmest friends, Toma Tustenuggee, 
who had thrown himself upon the party at the door, 
fell on the threshold, riddled with bullets. General 
Mcintosh then retreated to the second story with four 
guns, which he continued to fire from the windows. 

The flames drove him from the second story to the 
first floor again. He fought bravely to the end, but 
was soon compelled to expose himself to the fire of 
his enemies. He fell to the floor, pierced by many 
bullets, and was dragged into the yard by his heels. 
He breathed defiance to the last, and was finally 
stabbed to death. After this savage deed, the Indians 
plundered the houses, killed such cattle as they could 
find, and committed other outrages. A small party of 
the Indians had followed Hawkins the evening before. 
His house was surrounded about daybreak the next 
morning, and he was ordered to come out. He re- 
fused, and defended himself the best he could ; but 
he was finally taken prisoner and tied, until the fate 



215 

of Mcintosh was known. Then he was murdered, and 
his body thrown into the river near where he hved. 
The Indians marched back to the Tallapoosa country 
with the scalps of these unfortunate men. Mcintosh's 
scalp was suspended from a pole in the public square 
of Ocfuskee, and young and old danced around it with 
shouts of joy. 

General Mcintosh was a cousin of Governor Troup, 
being the son of Governor Troup's uncle, Captain Wil- 
liam Mcintosh, who was frequently on the Chatta- 
hoochee before the breaking-out of the Revolution. 



REMOVAL OF THE CHEROKEES. 

WHEN Georgia had begun to recover its breath, 
after the difficulties with the Creeks, the people 
had time to discover that they had a much more seri- 
ous problem to deal with in the Cherokee nation, which 
occupied all the northwestern portion of the State. 
Those who mingled thrift with their benevolence, and 
had the courage to think about the future of the whites 
as well as the future of the savages, thought that both 
ends would be attained by making a permanent settle- 
ment for the Indians beyond the Mississippi River. 
Those whose benevolence was a mixture of sentimen- 
tality and romantic misinformation thought the Indians 
ought to be left where contact with the whites would 
tend to civilize and Christianize them. Consequently 
there were two parties to the discussion, and a good 
deal of practical selfishness at the bottom of it all. 
There used to be an old song running in this wise, — 

"All I want in this creation, 
Is a pretty little wife and a big plantation 
Away up yonder in the Cherokee nation," — 

and this song no doubt represented the real feeling 
behind the whole matter. The big plantation was what 
was really wanted. At the same time it should not 

216 



21/ 

be forgotten that it was for the benefit of the Indians 
as well as the whites that they should be settled in a 
section where they would remain undisturbed. This 
policy has been proven by time to be the true one. 

Travelers and romancers have done no end of harm 
by exalting the Indian character, covering up its faults, 
and exaggerating its merits. Romance has made great 
heroes of the Indians ; but in the whole history of the 
red men, so far as it has been faithfully chronicled, the 
names of the Indians of unmixed blood who are worth 
remembering can be counted on the fingers of two hands. 

Sequoia, or George Guess, who invented the Chero- 
kee alphabet, was the grandson of a white man. This 
invention, however, was a very remarkable achieve- 
ment, and it is worthy of a word here. Sequoia was 
altogether illiterate. He could neither write nor speak 
English, but he saw that the whites could talk with 
each other by means of pieces of paper. So he set 
himself to work to examine his own language. He 
found that sixty monosyllables could be so combined 
as to represent every word in the Cherokee language, 
and for each of these syllables he formed a character. 
Many of these characters were taken from an English 
spelling book which he managed to get hold of. Some 
are Greek characters, and others are letters of the Eng- 
lish alphabet turned upside down ; but each character 
in the Cherokee alphabet stands for a monosyllable. It 
happened, too, from the structure of the Cherokee lan- 
guage or dialect, that the syllabic alphabet is also in 
the nature of a grammar ; so that those who know the 
language by ear, and master the alphabet, can at once 



2l8 

read and write. Owing to the extreme simplicity of 
this system, it can be acquired in a few days. Some 
have learned it even in one day. Thus it happened 
that the Cherokees, who were at the beginning of one 
year ignorant and illiterate, had become in the course 
of a few months able to read and write their own 
language. They accomplished this without going to 
school, and without expense of time or money. 

This curious and useful invention is dwelt on here * 
because it stands alone. The Indian grandson of a 
white man remains to-day the only man, in the long 
history of the aborigines, who has done anything for 
the real and lasting benefit of his race. 

When the people of Georgia insisted on the removal 
of that nation to the Far West, the Cherokees were 
neither better nor worse than the rest of the Indians. 
Some of the half-breeds had indeed begun to put on 
the airs of civilization, and many of them had put off 
their barbarian garbs ; but from time to time they gave 
evidence that contact with the whites had only whetted 
their savage appetites for cruelty. The Indian in 
Cooper's novels and the Indian in real life are two dif- 
ferent creatures. They were tall and straight because 
they refused to do manual labor. The drudgery was 
left to the women, who hoed the corn when at home, 
and carried the burdens when the warriors were mov- 
ing about. They cultivated the passion of revenge. 
Those who know them best have declared in a thousand 
ways that they never found in the red men any solid, 
substantial, or agreeable quality. They were brave, but 
so is a bulldog. 



219 

There is no wonder that Georgia wanted to get rid of 
them as neighbors. The people showed their anxiety 
in this matter when, in 1802, they conveyed to the 
United States Government all the valuable lands that 
now form the States of Alabama and Mississippi ; the 
consideration being that the General Government would 
secure from the Indians,, and open up to settlement, the 
lands which they then held in the State. In 1808 the 
Cherokees asked the United States to allow them to 
examine the public land west of the Mississippi, and, if 
pleased, to settle on it. Permission was given, and the 
Cherokees sent a party to explore the lands. The 
country suited them so well that many of the Indians 
emigrated at once. The General Government thus had 
an opportunity to carry out the contract of 1802, but 
failed to do so. It had another opportunity in 18 14, 
when the conquered Creeks sued for peace. The Gen- 
eral Government had the right to demand of them the 
cession of the land they occupied in Georgia. Instead, 
it took land in Alabama, which it sold for its own 
benefit. 

And so the matter went on from year to year, and 
the people waited patiently; for they had become 
aware, from costly experience, that one of the prices 
they have to pay for popular government is the occa- 
sional rule of the political demagogue. 

In 1827, when the people of Georgia began to grow 
restive under the failure of the government to carry 
out its contracts, the Cherokees had declared them- 
selves to be an independent state. They had their 
own printed constitution and code of laws. So that 



220 

here in the limits of Georgia there were three govern- 
ments going on at one and the same time. The 
United States prohibited any person from settling on 
Indian territory, or trading with any Indian, without a 
special license from the proper authority. In addition 
to this, the State of Georgia had found it necessary to 
extend her criminal courts over the Cherokee territory, 
in order to protect her own citizens. 

The half-breeds among the Cherokees were very 
shrewd and unscrupulous. They had caused some of 
their tribe to take possession of lands ceded to Georgia 
by the Creeks, and in this way sought to add confusion 
to the discussion that was then going on. The Indians 
took possession by force. They were armed and 
painted, and led by Chief Ridge. Fourteen or fifteen 
houses were burned by these savages, and the white 
women and children were left exposed to the weather, 
the ground being covered with snow. 

The great trouble with the Cherokees then and after- 
wards was, that the government of their nation had 
fallen into the hands of half-breeds, whose education 
only gave them fresh opportunities to gain wealth and 
power at the expense of the rest of the tribe. They 
owned trading houses, big plantations, numbers of 
slaves, had charge of the ferries, and controlled all the 
traffic between the whites and the Indians. As these 
half-breeds became wealthier, the rest of the tribe 
became poorer. They had forsaken their primitive 
habits and customs, and taken up those of the most 
depraved whites who lived among them. It is worthy 
of note that the most progressive spirits among the 



221 

Cherokees were in favor of emigration beyond the Mis- 
sissippi. The leaders of this party were natives of 
unmixed blood, who saw that the control of the corrupt 
half-breeds was carrying the nation to ruin. Several of 
these leaders were waylaid and shot down by the agents 
of those whose policy they were opposing. The alarm 
in some sections was very great. The citizens met, and 
adopted resolutions requesting the government to station 
troops at suitable points, for the protection of the lives 
and property of the whites and friendly Indians. 

Under an act of the Legislature, a body of militia 
had been organized, under the name of the " Georgia 
Guard." It was the duty of the Guard to protect the 
citizens of Georgia and the friendly Cherokees. John 
Howard Payne, the famous author of '' Home, Sweet 
Home," was arrested by this Guard. The poet was 
traveling among the Cherokees for information, and 
was no doubt ignorant of the state of feeling then exist- 
ing. He was finally suspected by the vigilant Georgia 
Guard of writing improper papers. He had been seen 
making notes, and when he was arrested his papers 
were searched. The commander of the Georgia Guard, 
Colonel William N. Bishop, reported to the governor 
that he had examined some of Mr. Payne's papers, and 
found some very improper and indiscreet statements 
about the President, the government, and the State 
authorities, and many bitter remarks concerning 
Cherokee matters. Evidently, Colonel Bishop was of 
the opinion, that, while a politician or a newspaper 
editor might be allowed to indulge in improper and 
indiscreet statements about Presidents and other public 



222 

men, a poet had no such rights. But the colonel 
finally discharged Mr. Payne from custody, and the 
very foolish proceeding was condemned by a resolution 
of the General Assembly. 

In 1835 two parties had developed in the Cherokee 
nation. One was in favor of removal to the Western 
lands, and the other was opposed to removal. John 
Ridge headed the removal party, and John Ross the 
opposition. In February of that year these men went 
to Washington at the head of deputations, and entered 
into negotiations with the General Government. After 
a great deal of talk, excitement, confusion, and trouble, 
the Cherokee people finally concluded to hold a meet- 
ing at Red Clay in October, 1835. There was a good 
deal of angry feeling between those of the Cherokees 
who were in favor of a treaty of removal and those 
who were opposed to it. Major Ridge, John Ridge, 
and David Vann were impeached for holding opinions 
contrary to those held by the Cherokee authorities. 
On the other hand, many of those in favor of removal 
met, and passed resolutions, in which they declared 
that their people could not prosper in the midst of a 
white population, and that, while they loved the lands 
of their fathers, and would leave the place of their 
birth with regret, they considered that it would be 
better to become exiles than to submit to the laws of 
the State. 

At the Red Clay meeting, arrangements were made 
for discussing with the United States authorities the 
terms of a treaty of removal. The Ross party was 
still violently opposed to removal. John Ross, the 



223 

leader of this party, was only one fourth Indian, the 
other three fourths being Scotch and American. Ross 
was very shrewd and thrifty, and had accumulated a 
great deal of property, with the prospect of accumu- 
lating more. He had many sympathizers and admirers 
in all parts of the country. It seems to have been 
thought a wonderful thing in that clay, that a man 
one quarter Indian should be able to read and write 
English, and make political speeches. When every- 
thing had been arranged for the final treaty, and while 
negotiations were going forward, Ross and his party 
put an end to them, and went to Washington, where 
they hoped to delay matters. But the Ridge party 
met the United States commissioners at New Echota 
on the 2 1st of December, 1835, according to appoint- 
ment, and on the 29th the treaty was concluded. On 
May 23, 1836, it was ratified. 

By the terms of this treaty, the Cherokees, in con- 
sideration of the sum of five million dollars, relin- 
quished all claims to lands east of the Mississippi. In 
addition to the money to be paid, they were to receive 
seven million acres of land west of the Mississippi. 
Should this territory be found to be insufficient, the 
United States, in consideration of five hundred thou- 
sand dollars, was to convey to them an additional 
body of land. The land thus granted was not to be 
included within the limits of any State at any future 
time. The Cherokees were guaranteed protection 
against domestic strife and foreign enemies, and it 
was provided that the tribe should be entitled to a 
delegate in the House of Representatives whenever 



224 

Congress passed a law to that effect. The United 
States authorities were to remove the Cherokees to 
their new homes, and to provide for their support 
for one year after they were settled. There were 
other provisions, all in favor of the Cherokees. The 
Indians were to be removed within two years after 
the ratification of the treaty. 

Ross, and other leaders opposed to removal, had gone 
to Washington. While there they were informed, by 
Major Ridge and others, of the treaty at New Echota. 
Ross refused to make any reply to the communication, 
but tried to make a new treaty. He was told that he 
could not be received to make a new treaty. The atti- 
tude of the Ross party, together with certain threats 
that had been made by their followers, led many citi- 
zens of Georgia to believe that the Indians opposed 
to removal would, in accordance with their character 
and history, revenge themselves by making night 
attacks on the unprotected people. Consequently 
those most likely to be the victims of such attacks 
petitioned the governor for arms, ammunition, and 
troops ; and these petitions were granted. A battalion 
of militia was raised, and placed at Lashley's Ferry 
on the Coosa River, with orders to keep the Chero- 
kees in check, and also to prevent the Creeks from 
coming into Georgia. Many of the Cherokees were 
disarmed ; and five hundred muskets, with ammunition, 
were sent into Cherokee County, for the use of the 
people in the event of any hostile movement on the 
part of the Indians. 

The State of Georgia was to take possession of the 



225 

territory ceded by the treaty on the twenty-fourth day 
of May, 1838, and the miUtary were got in readiness for 
removing the Indians. General Scott, of the United 
States army, called on the governor of Georgia for two 
regiments, and to this call there was a prompt response. 
By the i8th of May enough men had arrived at New 
Echota, where the troops were to assemble, to organize 
a regiment; and on the morning of the 24th the troops 
took up the line of march for the purpose of collecting 
the Indians. This continued until the 3d of June, 
when the troops and the Indians started for Ross's 
Landing on the Tennessee River. About fifteen hun- 
dred Indians had been collected by the Georgia troops, 
and these troops were then dismissed from the service 
of the United States. 

The rest of the work was done by the regular army, 
which, being divided into small detachments, went about 
the Cherokee country, making prisoners of family after 
family, and carrying them to the camps. The most 
careful arrangements had been made to prevent cruelty 
or disorder, and there has never been any complaint 
as to the manner in which the troops performed their 
duty. Nearly the whole nation had been gathered into 
camps by the end of June. At that time some of 
the Indians began their march to the West ; but the 
great body of the tribe, fourteen thousand in number, 
did not begin their westward journey luitil September, 
owing to the hot weather. Every arrangement that 
could be suggested was made for the comfort of the 
Indians in their march ; but from May, when the 
removal began, to the time when the last company 
sTo. OF t;A. — 15 



226 

had completed its journey, more than four thousand 
persons died. 

One year afterwards, on the 22d of June, 1839, 
Major Ridge, John Ridge, and EHas Boudinot, all of 
whom had taken an active part in negotiating the 
treaty of removal, were assassinated. 

Since their removal the Cherokees have prospered to 
a greater extent than any other Indian tribe. They 
have a government of their own, flourishing schools, 
and books and newspapers printed in their own lan- 
guage. It is the only tribe of American Indians that 
has shown any desire or ability to share in the benefits 
of civilization. 



THE BEGINNING OF PARTIES IN GEORGIA. 

THE first serious political division in Georgia after 
the Revolution had a very curious beginning. 
There is always, of course, a division among the 
people on great public questions as they arise. But 
the War of the Revolution had so solidified public sen- 
timent that nothing occurred to jar it until the Yazoo 
Fraud created some division. Even then public senti- 
ment was so overwhelmingly opposed to the sale of the 
lands to the speculators, that the few who favored it 
were not numerous nor respectable enough to be called 
a party. 

On the 24th of February, 1806, Mr. Josiah Glass, 
having come all the way from North Carolina in search 
of a Mr. Robert Clary, went to the town of Sparta with 
a warrant which he requested Judge Charles Tait to 
indorse. This Judge Tait did in due form. The war- 
rant was for negro stealing, and was directed against 
Mr. Robert Clary. Mr. Clary was arrested by Mr. 
Josiah Glass in Washington County, and was carried 
to Greene County Superior Court. On the first day 
of the court, Mr. Josiah Glass wrote a letter to Judge 
Tait, and requested him to attend, and take the examina- 
tion of a man then in his custody, who would make con- 
fessions highly interesting to the State and the United 

227 



228 



States. Judge Tait, accompanied by Squire Oliver 
Skinner, attended that night, and took a part of the 
confessions of Mr. Robert Clary, and completed them 
the following night. Then he gave Mr. Josiah Glass a 
certified copy of the same to take with him to North 
Carolina, to which State he was taking Mr. Robert 
Clary, on a warrant charging him with negro stealing. 

Now, it seems that the warrant 
against Clary was merely intended 







as a scheme to get him to 



North Carolina to testily 
against a man 
named Collins. 
History has sup- 
pressed the con- 
fessions made by 
Mr. Robert Clary ; 
but it is certain 
that they contained 
a most offensive 
charge against 
General John Clarke, whose patriotic 
services in behalf of the people dur- 
ing the Revolution gave him great fame and popularity. 
No sooner did John Clarke hear of this affair than he 
proceeded to act with his usual promptness. When he 
learned the particulars about the taking of the affidavit 
at night, he at once jumped to the conclusion that he had 
been made the victim of a conspiracy. There had been 
some disa2:reement between him and Hon. William H. 
Crawford ; and as Judge Tait had been the partner of 



229 

Mr. Crawford, and was his firm friend, — for Crawford 
was a man f^reat enough to command and deserve 
friends, — General Clarke suspected that Clary and 
Glass had been made tools of to damage his reputation. 
General Clarke acted at once. He presented a 
memorial to the Legislature, making certain charges 
against Judge Tait with respect to the taking of the 
"dark-lantern affidavits," as they were called by his 
friends. The Legislature found, as it ought to have 
done, that the charges made in the memorial of Gen- 
eral Clarke were unsupported by fact or evidence. In 
the very nature of things, it could not be shown that an 
honorable judge of the Superior Court of Georgia, in 
certifying to an affidavit containing the confession of a 
mere adventurer, was engaged in a conspiracy; but the 
question with which General Clarke had to deal was, 
how did the offensive and malicious matter, contained 
in an affidavit taken by a judge and one witness at 
night, become public property ? If General Clarke had 
been a more thoroughgoing politician, he would have 
found a better way to confound his enemies than that 
which he adopted ; but he was deeply wounded by a 
foul charge made at night, and put in circulation by 
means of nods and winks and whispers. His first 
recourse was to the Legislature, consequently it had 
the effect of strengthening both his friends and his 
enemies. His friends were indignant at the action of 
the Legislature. His enemies professed to be aston- 
ished that arrogance should fly so high as to bring be- 
fore the Legislature unfounded charges against a judge 
of the superior courts. 



230 

The legislative record is not as full as it might be. 
There was something behind the Clary business that 
does not appear on the records of the House and 
Senate. General Clarke wrote a pamphlet entitled "A 
Legacy for My Children," in which, according to Judge 
Garnett Andrews (see " Reminiscences of an Old Georgia 
Lawyer"), the matter of his memorial to the Legislature 
is differently stated. According to Judge Andrews, who 
bases his authority on General Clarke's pamphlet and 
on the testimony of those who were familiar with the 
facts. Clary was arrested and carried before Judge Tait 
on a charge of stealing horses. Clary charged General 
Clarke with complicity. Mr. Crawford was the prose- 
cuting attorney. General Clarke accused Judge Tait 
and Mr. Crawford with instigating Clary to make the 
charge. 

The truth seems to be, that Clary, knowing the differ- 
ences that existed between these distinguished men, 
sought to help his own case by making the charge 
against General Clarke, and that the latter was quite 
ready to believe that his two opponents had originated 
the charges for the purpose of doing him a mortal 
injury. Feeling assured of the justice of his cause, he 
appealed to the Legislature. This failing, he took the 
matter into his own hands. He challenged Mr. Craw- 
ford, shot him through the wrist, and then challenged 
him again. A little later, cantering along a street in 
Milledgeville on his fine sorrel horse. General Clarke 
saw Judge Tait before him in a sulky. He spurred his 
horse forward, and laid his whip across the judge's 
shoulders two or three times. 



231 

These events created great excitement throughout the 
State. There had already been controversy and divi- 
sion caused by the duel between Mr. Crawford and Van 
Allen, a cousin of President Van Buren, and at that 
time attorney-general of the State. Van Allen was 
killed ; and there was a great controversy in Georgia, 
in consequence, as to who was right and who was 
wronsf. This excitement became furious in the course 











of the contest between Clarke and Crawford. Craw- 
ford was fortunately lifted out of it by being made a 
United States senator in 1807. His distinguished 
career afterwards is well known. He was minister to 
France, secretary of the treasury, Vice-President of 
the United States, and would have been elected Presi- 
dent but for reports circulated throughout the country 
that he had been stricken down with a fatal illness. 
But the contest between the Clarke and Crawford par- 



232 

ties continued to rage. Whatever issue the Clarke men 
were favorable to, the Crawford men opposed. What- 
ever scheme the Clarke men suggested, the Crawford 
men fought. There was nothing polite about the con- 
test. People who wore gloves pulled them off. In 
cold weather the voters were warm, and in hot weather 
they were steaming. The contest went on before 
elections, and was kept up with just as much energy 
after elections. No vote could settle it, and no suc- 
cess could quiet it. It was in the nature of a politi- 
cal squabble, covering the whole State, dividing districts, 
counties, cities, towns, villages, settlements, beats, cross- 
roads groceries, and families. It was a knock-down- 
and-drag-out fight, in which hair pulling, gouging, and 
biting were allowed. 

While Crawford was advancing step by step in 
national politics, his party in Georgia took up George 
M. Troup, one of the most brilliant and aggressive 
men in the State. The contest had been going on 
for twenty years when Troup came upon the scene, 
in 1830, as a candidato for governor. He had been 
a member of the State Legislature, a representative in 
Congress, and a United States senator : therefore in 
1820, when he was nominated for governor by the 
Crawford party, he was ripe in experience. He was 
forty years old, and full of the fire and energy that 
marked his whole career. The Crawford party now 
became the Troup party, and the contests that fol- 
lowed were the most exciting that ever took place in 
the State before, or that have ever taken place since. 

At that time the General Assembly elected the gov- 



233 

ernor, the people selecting members favorable to the 
candidates they preferred. As the result of the first 
campaign between the Clarke and Troup parties, Gen- 
eral John Clarke was elected by a majority of thirteen 
legislative votes. When Governor Clarke's term ex- 
pired, he was again opposed by Troup, and was again 
elected, but this time by a majority of only two legis- 
lative votes. In 1823, Matthew Talbot represented the 
Clarke party, but was defeated by Troup. In 1825, 
General Clarke again entered the contest. The elec- 
tion was no longer in the hands of the Lesrislature, 
but was by popular vote. Governor Troup's treat- 
ment of the Indian question, and the firm stand he 
had taken in favor of the rights of the State, had 
materially increased his influence, and he was elected 
over Clarke by a majority of 68^ votes. 

Curious to relate, the old Clarke party became the 
Union party, and in 1840 was the Democratic party. 
The Crawford party became the States Rights party, 
and in 1840 was the Whig party. Such was the evolu- 
tion of parties in Georgia. 



A QUEER CASE. 




A 



VERY queer, 
not to say mys- 
terious case, was 
brought to trial in 
Jones County in 
1837, at the April 
term of the Suj^erior 
Court. It has had 
no parallel in 
Georgia before or 
since, and had 
none in any other 
country, so far as 
the present writer is 
aware, until the cele- 
brated Tichborne case 
was brought to trial in England a few years ago. The 
Bunkley case created quite as much excitement, and 
caused quite as much division in public opinion in 
Georgia, as the Tichborne case did in England. 

Jesse L. Bunkley belonged to a good family in 
Jones County, and when he came of age would have 
fallen heir to an estate worth forty thousand dollars. 
An effort was made to give him all the advantages 

234 



235 

of education, but these he refused to accept. He 
was a wild boy, and was fonder of wild company 
than of his books. He went to school for a while 
in Eatonton, but got into some scrape there and ran 
away. He was afterwards sent to Franklin College, 
now the State University, where he entered the gram- 
mar school. Such discipline as they had in those days 
was irksome to young Bunkley, and he soon grew tired 
of it. He left the college, and, after roving about for 
a while, returned to his home in Jones County. In 
his twentieth year, 1825, being well supplied with 
money, he left his home for the purpose of traveling. 
He went to the Southwest, and in that year wrote to 
his mother from New Orleans. 

No other letter was received from him during that 
year or the next, and in 1827 word was brought to 
Jones County that Jesse Bunkley was dead. The 
rumor, for it seems to have been nothing more, was 
regarded by the family as true. At any rate, no 
attempt was made to investigate it. Jesse was the 
black sheep of the family ; he had been away from 
home a good deal ; his conduct when at home had 
not been such as to commend him to the affections 
of his people ; and his mother had married a third 
husband, a man named Lowther : consequently the 
vague news of the young man's death was probably 
received with a feeling of relief. There was always a 
probability that such a wild and dissipated youngster 
would come to some bad end ; but with his death that 
probability ceased to be even a possibility, and so, no 
doubt with a sigh of relief, young Bunkley's ])eople 



236 

put aside the memory of him. He was dead and 
buried. Those who survived him were more than 
wiUing to take the care and trouble of managing the 
estate which young Bunkley would have inherited had 
he returned and claimed it. 

]^ut in 1833, Major Smith of Jones County received 
a letter purporting to be from Jesse L. Bunkley, and 
it related to matters that both Smith and Bunkley 
were familiar with. In December, 1833, Mrs. Lowther, 
his mother, received a letter from a person claiming 
to be her son Jesse. The letter was dated at the 
New Orleans prison. It appears from this letter that 
the family of Bunkley had already taken steps to 
disown the person who had written to Major Smith, 
and who claimed to be Jesse Bunkley. The letter to 
Mrs. Lowther was very awkwardly written. It was 
misspelled, and bore no marks of punctuation ; and 
yet it is just such a letter as might be written by a 
man who took no interest in his books when a school- 
boy, and had had no occasion to look into them or 
to handle a pen. He said in this letter that he wrote 
to convince his mother that he was her own child, 
though it appeared that she wished to disown him. 
This, he declared in his awkward way, he knew no 
reason for, unless it was on account of his past folly. 
He then went on to relate some facts about the family 
and his own school days. The mother did not answer 
this letter, because, as she said afterwards on the wit- 
ness stand, she did not consider tliat it was from her 
son. She was satisfied, she said, that the letter was 
not in her son's handwriting. 



The person claiming to be Jesse L. Bunkley reached 
Jones County some time afterwards. His case, in the 
nature of things, excited great pubHc interest. Hun- 
dreds of people who had known Jesse recognized him 
in this claimant. On the other hand, hundreds who 
had also known Bunkley when a boy failed to recog- 
nize him in the claimant. Meanwhile those who had 
charge of the Bunkley property took prompt action. 
They went before the grand jury, and had the claimant 
indicted for cheating and swindling ; and thus began 
the celebrated case of the State against Elijah Barber, 
alias Jesse L. Bunkley. 

The claimant came to Jones County in 1836, was 
indicted in that year, and his case was brought to trial 
in the Superior Court in April, 1837. A great deal of 
time was taken up in the investigation. More than one 
hundred and thirty witnesses were examined. Ninety- 
eight, the majority of these being disinterested persons, 
declared that they believed the claimant to be an im- 
postor. More than forty disinterested persons declared 
under oath that they believed the claimant to be Jesse 
L. Bunkley, and the majority of these last witnesses 
had known Bunkley long and intimately. 

The efforts of the prosecution were directed to show- 
ing that the man claiming to be Jesse Bunkley was in 
reality Elijah Barber, who in 1824-25 was a wagoner 
who hauled lumber from Grace's Mill near Macon, who 
was also known in Upson County, and who had served 
in the Florida war. Some of the witnesses who had 
never known lUmkley recognized the claimant as a man 
who had called himself Barber. Some of the witnesses 



2^8 



,/#v^/^ 




239 

who had known Jesse from his boyhood testified that 
they recognized the claimant as Bunkley on sight. 
Bunkley had various scars on his face, neck, and body. 
The claimant exhibited all these to the jury. One of 
the witnesses remembered that Bunkley bore the marks 
of a snake bite on one of his legs. The claimant imme- 
diately showed these marks. Hundreds of questions 
had been put to the claimant to test his memory. A 
great many he answered correctly, a great many others 
he failed to answer; but his replies to all vital questions 
were wonderfully clear and satisfactory. The jury was 
out but a short time before it returned, bringing in a 
verdict of guilty ; and the claimant was sentenced to 
the penitentiary, where he served out his term. 

This verdict and sentence settled the case in law, but 
it remained as unsettled as ever in the public mind. 
The writer of this has heard it discussed on more than 
one occasion among old ladies and gentlemen who 
knew Bunkley, and who saw the claimant ; and, without 
exception, they declared that the verdict of the jury 
was cruelly unjust. 

And yet, if any wrong was done, Bunkley himself 
was to blame for it. Being a young man of fortune 
and of the fairest prospects, he owed it to himself, his 
family, his friends, and to society at large, to become a 
good citizen, so that his ample means might be properly 
employed. Instead of that, he became a rowdy and a 
rioter, spending his days and his nights in evil company 
and in dissipation. If the claimant in this mysterious 
case was really Jesse Bunkley, it may be said of him 
that his sins had found him out. 



GEORGIA WIT AND HUMOR. 

THE wit and humor of Georgia stand by themselves. 
They have no counterpart in any other section of 
the country. Many attempts have been made to imitate 
them, but there is always something lacking. The 
flavor, the ''bouquet," the aroma, is gone. The sun, 
the soil, the air, and even the spring water, seem to 
have something to do with it. Just what, nobody 
knows. Wit and humor are elusive, — they are unsub- 
stantial. On the other hand, the Georgia watermelon 
is something solid. It may be handled and felt. It 
may be " thumped " and " plugged " and tested. Those 
who know what a watermelon is and should be, know 
that there is none to compare with the melons that 
are grown in Georgia, no matter what 'the variety. 
The same mav be said of the wit and humor that 
belong to Georgia. An old man — Uncle Tom Norris 
he was called, on account of his gray hairs — was once 
heard to say (speaking professionally), " Let me clap 
a drop of the low-wines to my tongue, and I'll tell you 
what branch the fire was kindled on." He was a dis- 
tiller, and knew his business. One need not be an 
expert to say the same of Georgia humor. It is almost 
possible to tell the very militia district in which it 
originated. It carries not only the flavor, but the color. 

240 



241 

For a hundred years Georgia has remained the most 
democratic part of the country. The sons of the richest 
men were put in the fields to work side by side with the 
negroes, and were thus taught to understand the impor- 
tance of individual effort that leads to personal inde- 
pendence. It thus happened that there was a cordial, 
and even an affectionate, understanding between the 
slaves and their owners, that perhaps had no parallel 
elsewhere. The poorer whites had no reason to hold 
their heads down because they had to work for their 
living. The richest slave owners did not feel them- 
selves above those who had few negroes or none. 
When a man called his neighbor " Colonel," or " Judge," 
it was to show his respect, nothing more. For the rest, 
the humblest held their heads as high as the richest, 
and were as quick, perhaps quicker, in a quarrel. 

The Virginians and North Carolinians who settled in 
the Broad River region intermarried, and spread out 
over middle Georgia. Those who were not akin were 
bound to each other by ties of long acquaintanceship ; 
but the homogeneousness of the people, complete and 
thorough as it was, was not marked by any monotony. 
On the contrary, character and individuality ran riot, 
appearing in such strange and attractive shapes as to 
puzzle and bewilder even those who were familiar with 
the queer manifestations. Every settlement had its 
peculiarities, and every neighborhood boasted of its 
humorist, — its clown, whose pranks and jests were lim- 
ited by no license. Out of this has grown a literature 
which, in some of its characteristics, is not matched else- 
where on the globe ; but that which has been preserved 

STU. UK (J A. — 16 



242 

by printing is not comparable, either in volume or 
merit, with the great body of humor that has perished 
because of the lack of some one industrious enough to 
chronicle it. 

One of the most perfect types of the Georgia humor- 
ist was the late John M. Dooly. Judge Dooly was a 
remarkable man in other respects, but it is his wonder- 
ful fund of humor that has made his name famous in 
Georgia and throughout the country. It has been told 
in these pages how Colonel John Dooly was dragged 
from his bed by the Tories and murdered. This Colo- 
nel Dooly was the father of John M., who was hid 
under the bed when the Tories dragged his father out 
and murdered him. It might be supposed that such 
an event would have a tendency to give a boy a very 
serious view of life. Judge Dooly's views were no 
doubt serious enough ; but they were overwhelmed and 
overpowered by a temperament which found cause for 
laughter in almost every person and passing event, and 
was the cause of innocent mirth in others. 

Judge Dooly was born in what he called the " Dark 
Corner" of Lincoln County, which had not then been 
cut off from Wilkes. After the murder of his father, 
the family was left in poverty. When he went to 
W^ashington, the county seat of Wilkes County, to read 
law with Mr. Matthews, the clothes he wore were in 
such a condition that he was compelled to confine him- 
self to the office in the daytime. He was very poor 
and very bright. Old people who knew him when a 
boy, described him to Judge Garnett Andrews as '' a 
sallow, piney-woods-looking lad." *' Piney-woods peo- 



J43 



pie " was the local name for the tackles, the clay eaters, 
the no-accounts, that had settled about on the poorer 
lands in that section of Georgia, and given themselves 
over to thriftlessness for good and all. But young 
Dooly had that within him which made him superior 
to the conditions and limitations of poverty. Apart 
from his remarkable gift of humor, 
he had a native brilliancy of mind 
that gave him an easy mastery 
over the principles of law that 
he found in the books. He 
was admitted to the bar in 
1798, and was immediately 
successful as a lawyer. His 
education had been limited 
to that which he found in 
the " old field schools," and 
in that day they were not of 
the best ; but such a mind 
as his needed only the rudi- 
ments, the rest came as by 
instinct. 

Judge Dooly was not a student 
while practicing at the bar. He had thoroughly mastered 
the principles, the groundwork, of the law ; and his mind, 
as logical as it was brilliant, fitted these principles to 
every case he had charge of. His love of humor, and his 
fondness for the society of those who preferred fun and 
frolic, placed many temptations in his way, and some 
of these he did not always resist ; but the faults he 
had were the faults of the time in which he lived, the 




/1-- 



244 

faults of the society in which he was brought up and 
by which he was surrounded. Judge Dooly has been 
described by a contemporary as having a large head, 
with a bold, high forehead, heavy eyebrows, prominent 
nose, a small compressed mouth, and large, vivid, spar- 
kling eyes, which, when the spirit of humor had posses- 
sion of him, illuminated his countenance as if an electric 
battery were in play. 

On one occasion. Judge Dooly had been challenged 
by Judge Tait, — the same Judge Tait who had made 
himself so obnoxious to General John Clarke. Judge 
Tait had a wooden leg ; and Judge Dooly, in replying 
to the challenge, referred to this fact, and said he did 
not think they could fight on equal terms. He hoped 
his refusal would not be interpreted as a reflection on 
the misfortunes of Judge Tait. This reply made Judge 
Tait more indignant than ever. He wrote a severe 
reply, suggesting to Judge Dooly that his refusal to 
fight was the result of cowardice rather than a desire 
not to shed the blood of an unfortunate cripple. In 
answer to this insinuation. Judge Dooly declared 
boldly that he was ready to fight his adversary on any- 
thing like equal terms. He announced that he would 
meet Judge Tait anywhere, on any day, and exchange a 
shot with him, provided he (Judge Dooly) was allowed 
to stand on the field of honor with one leg in a bee- 
gum ! The bee-gums of that day were made of sections 
of hollow trees. Naturally this remarkable proposition 
made Judge Tait madder than ever, and he wrote to 
Judge Dooly that he intended to publish him as a 
coward. Judge Dooly calmly informed Judge Tait by 



245 

letter that he had no sort of objection to the pubHcation, 
provided it was at Tait's expense. He declared, that, 
for his part, he would rather fill a dozen newspapers 
than one coffin. These unexpected strokes of humor 
disarmed the anger of Judge Tait, and set the whole 
State in a roar. They did more : they cleared the politi- 
cal atmosphere, and took the edge off of party rancor, 
which was at that time very fierce and keen. 

Once, when dining at a public table, Dooly said 
something or did something to irritate Major Freeman 
Walker. The latter, remarking that he had borne with 
the liberties taken by Judge Dooly quite long enough, 
said he proposed to resent them then and there. The 
attack on his feelings had been made in public, and 
he proposed to resent it in public. Seizing a chair, 
he advanced on Judge Dooly. The judge seized a 
carving knife, and braced himself for defense. Several 
gentlemen caught hold of the judge to prevent him 
from using the knife, while only one held Major 
Walker. Surveying the scene. Judge Dooly calmly 
remarked, " Gentlemen, one of you will be sufficient to 
prevent me from doing any mischief. The rest of you 
had better hold Walker." The explosion that this re- 
mark created put even Major Walker in good humor, 
and he and the judge settled their differences in the 
most amiable and rational manner. 

When the Legislature passed severe laws against 
gaming. Judge Dooly enforced them rigidly. Some 
of the gamblers were brought to trial and fined, and 
others were only saved from arrest by the fact that 
they kept out of the way when court was in session. 



246 

But one night in Washington, Wilkes Comity, after the 
judge had been holding court all the week and had 
closed the term, he went to his room in the hotel and 
.made all preparations to retire. He had barely settled 
himself in bed, when he heard a noise in an adjoining 
room, and soon discovered that a game of faro was 
going on. The noise disturbed him so, that he dressed 
himself, went to the room, and told the players, that, 
having tried all legal methods to break them up, and 
failed, he was now determined to try another plan. 
He thereupon seated himself at the table, and before 
the night was spent broke the bank. He then told 
the gamblers to clear out, and be more careful in 
future how they interfered with the court. 

Once when sitting up late at night, trying a very 
complicated case, the sheriff voluntarily placed on the 
bench beside the judge a small pitcher half filled with 
toddy. When he had finished the toddy, the judge 
called to the officer, " Mr. Sheriff, fetch in some 
more water out of the same spring." A murder case 
was once tried before him. The point in the case was 
whether the prisoner had shot in self-defense. There 
was a good deal said by the lawyers about the right 
to shoot. The jury, intending to justify the prisoner, 
brought in this verdict : '' The prisoner has a right to 
shoot." When this verdict was read to the court, the 
judge held up his hands in pretended alarm, and cried 
out, '' Mr. Sheriff, don't let him shoot this v/ay ! " 

A story is told of Judge Dooly and Tom Peter 
Carnes, another rare humorist, that fairly illustrates 
the statement made in the beginning of this chapter 



247 

in regard to the plain and democratic character of 
the people who settled Middle Georgia. Dooly and 
his friend Carnes were traveling to court, having gone 
without breakfast in order to be up and on their way 
at an early hour. At last they reached the place where 
they were to get breakfast, and called for it with some 
show of impatience. The lady of the house, however, 
was in no hurry. She said that they should have break- 
fast the moment Charles came. So she called for 
Charles, blew the horn for Charles, and finally sent 
for Charles. When Charles put in an appearance, the 
two travelers found that he was a big negro, so black 
and fat that he fairly glistened when the sun shone 
on him. Naturally Dooly and Carnes were surprised. 
They were still more surprised when the negro's mis- 
tress said in a coaxing tone, *' Now, Charles, I do 
wish you would sit down and let the gentlemen eat, 
as they are in a hurry to go to court." Charles didn't 
like so much company ; but he finally sat down to the 
table, on which there was a big bowl of clabber, three 
'* hunks " of corn bread, and three pewter spoons. 
*' Now, Charles," said the woman, '* do eat, and then 
the gentlemen will begin." Making the best of the 
situation, and somewhat enjoying the humor of it, 
Dooly and Carnes sat down at the table and began 
to eat. Carnes shook his big spoon at the negro, and 
cried out, '' Now, Charles, you must s])oony on your 
own side;" and he kept on warning him, "Spoony on 
your own side, Charles, spoony on your own side." 
The two lawyers ate until Charles's spoon began 
to make raids on their side of the bowl, and then 



248 



they abandoned the feast to him and went on their 
way. 

A landlord of a hotel, having heard some of the 
lawyers, among them Judge Dooly, bragging about 
the toothsomeness of a baked pig they had tasted, 
probably at Milledgeville during the session of the 
Legislature, concluded that he would surprise and 
please them by having something in that line himself. 

He was either ignorant or ill- 
advised; for, instead of bak- 
ing a suckling pig, he 
roasted a half-grown pig, 
stuffed him, put an 
apple in his mouth, 
and stood him upon 
his stumps in a 
dish. In those days 
the seat of honor at 
the head of the hotel 
table was reserved for 
the judge of the court. 
At the head of the 
table Mr. Pig was placed, facing Judge Dooly's seat. 
The judge and the lawyers came in, sat down, and ate 
dinner in comparative silence. They were overawed by 
Mr. Pig. Though the carving knife lay handy, and 
the landlord and his wife were watching with impa- 
tience and uneasiness to see what the lawyers would 
say when they had tasted this particular roast pig, 
no one dared to touch it. At supper Mr. Pig was 
still standing defiantly in his place. He presided at 




249 

every meal during the day following. On the morn- 
ing of the second day, when Judge Dooly came 
to the table, Mr. Pig was in his old position. There- 
upon the judge bowed to him gravely. "Good- 
morning, sir ! " he said. " I am afraid you have lost 
your appetite, seeing you have not eaten that apple 
yet. I presume you are tired attending court. — Mr. 
Sheriff, you may discharge him on his own recogni- 
zance, until court in course, seeing we shall have no 
further use for him at this session, and return him the 
thanks of the court for his prompt and faithful attend- 
ance." 

Judge Dooly was a member of the Clarke party ; 
but on one occasion, when he was a candidate for 
reelection to the judgeship of the northern circuit, some 
of the Clarke men declared that Governor Troup's 
warlike message was an evidence that he was mad. 
Judge Dooly made the comment, *' If he is mad, I wish 
the same mad dog that bit him would bite me." This 
happy remark came to the ears of the Troup men in the 
Legislature, and it so pleased them that they put an 
end to all opposition to the judge in the election. 

Judge Dooly was one of the most charitable of men. 
He once refused to give alms to an unfortunate woman 
in Savannah, and the refusal haunted him all his life 
He declared that it taught him never to let Satan cheat 
him out of another opportunity to help the unfortunate; 
that he had determined to err on the safe side ever 
after. 

Just before he died, a friend called to ask after his 
condition. His reply was that he had a bad cold with- 



250 

out any cough to suit it. And so, humor bubbUng from 
his Hps to the last, there passed away, on the 26th of 
May, 1827, the rarest humorist that Georgia, the espe- 
cial mother of humorists, has ever produced. Judge 
Dooly had a humor that was as illuminating as it was 
enlivening. It stirred to laughter or it moved to tears, 
according as this wonderful man chose to direct it. 

A great deal of the humor that originated in Georgia 
has been printed in books. We find it in Judge Long- 
street's ''Georgia Scenes," in Major Jones's ''Travels," 
in Colonel Richard Malcolm Johnston's " Stories of 
Georgia Life," and in other volumes that have attracted 
public attention. But the best of it has been lost. It 
originated when the lawyers were riding about on horse- 
back or in buggies from court to court, and tradition 
has only preserved a small part of it. 



SLAVERY AND SECESSION. 

THE dispute over slavery, which had been going on 
for many years, grew furious in 1850; and its 
fury increased until, in 1860-61, it culminated in the 
secession of the Southern States from, the Union. 
Some of those who have written the history of the 
secession movement contend that slavery had little or 
nothing to do with the matter ; that the South seceded 
because the North had refused to grant her people 
their rights guaranteed under the Constitution. This 
is true as far as it goes; but the fact remains, that 
secession and the war grew out of the efforts of the 
abolitionists of the North, and those who sympathized 
with them, to keep slavery out of the Territories, and to 
prevent the new States then forming from becoming 
slave States. There is no doubt that these efforts were 
illegal and unconstitutional ; and yet, in the minds of 
those who made them, constitutionality was not a suffi- 
cient excuse for slavery, which, whatever might be its- 
political status, was morally wrong : that is to say, they 
believed that such a wrong as slavery could not be justi- 
fied by paper constitutions and the like. Some of the 
more extreme abolitionists of the North were just as 
ready to secede from the Union that recognized slavery 
as the Southerners were to break up a Union whose 
constitutional guaranties meant nothing. 

251 



2C2 

It must be borne in mind that tlie antislavery move- 
ment began in the South. While slavery was in full 
blast both North and South, Thomas Jefferson, the 
greatest political leader the South has ever produced, 
was at the head of an emancipation movement, and in 
all parts of the South there were men whose minds 
revolted at the possibilities that swarmed about human 
slavery. Georgia was the only one of the Original 
Thirteen Colonies in which slavery was prohibited, and 
we have seen how this prohibition was repealed at the 
demand of the planters. Seven Northern States, find- 
ing slavery unprofitable, abolished the system, and a 
majority of the slaves were sold to the Southern States. 
But the emancipation movement went on in the South. 
There were more than fifty thousand free negroes in 
Virginia in 1856, and there were a great many in 
Georgia. A number of planters in Georgia, the most 
prominent among them being Alfred Cuthbert, eman- 
cipated their slaves, and arranged to send them to 
Liberia. 

Nevertheless the invention of the cotton gin did more 
to strengthen the cause of slavery than all other events 
combined. It became more profitable than ever to own 
slaves ; and in this way, and on this account, all the 
cotton-growing States becamiC interested in the system. 
They had the excuse not only that slavery was profit- 
able, but that self-interest combined with feelings of 
humanity to make it a patriarchal institution. And 
such, in fact, it was. It is to the glory of the American 
character and name, that never before in the history of 
the world was human slavery marked by such mildness. 



253 



such humanity, as that which characterized it in the 
United States. 

But all such considerations as these, as well as the 
moral objections to slavery of any sort, humane or cruel, 
were lost sight of in the great controversy that grew so 
furious in 1850. In that controversy some of Georgia's 
ablest men took part, — men who were famous as states- 
men all over the country. There were Alexander H. 
Stephens, who afterwards became the Vice-President of 
the Confederacy ; Robert Toombs, whose fiery and 
impetuous character and wonderful eloquence made him 
a man of mark ; Howell Cobb, who was speaker of the 
House of Representatives; Herschel V. Johnson, who 
was a candidate for Vice-President on the ticket with 
Stephen A. Douglas in i860; Benjamin H. Hill, who 
was just then coming into prominence ; and Joseph E. 
Brown, whose influence on the political history of the 
State has been more marked than that of any other 
individual. 

The controversy growing out of the slavery question 
became so warm that it led to the breaking-up of par- 
ties in 1850. Stephens and Toombs, who had been 
Whigs, united with Howell Cobb, who was a Democrat. 
Other Southern Whigs united under the name of the 
American party. At the North the Whigs either joined 
the Republican party or united with the American 
party. The spirit of disunion was rampant in all parts 
of the South. In Georgia the Legislature had called a 
State convention, and a great effort was made by some 
of the politicians to commit the State to secession. 
Both Toombs and Stephens were strong Union men, 



254 

and they opposed the spirit and purpose of the call for 
the convention. The speeches that Toombs had made 
in Congress were garbled by the newspapers, and he was 
made to appear as favoring immediate secession. He 
made short work of that scheme, however. He returned 
to Georgia in the fall of 1850, and immediately began 
one of the most extraordinary campaigns that has ever 
taken place in the State. He was in the prime of life. 
His fiery energy, his boldness, his independence, and 
his dauntless courage, were in full flower. He took 
issue with what seemed to be the unanimous sentiment 
of the State. He declared that the call for the conven- 
tion had dishonored the State. He sent out a ringing 
address to the people,' urging the South to stand by the 
Constitution and the laws in good faith. 

By the time the convention was held, the efforts of 
Toombs, supplemented by those of Stephens and other 
conservative men, had turned the tide of disunion. 
Whigs united with Democrats. When the returns of 
the election were made known, it was found that a large 
majority of the members were for the Union. ''With 
no memory of past differences," said Toombs, "careless 
of the future, I am ready to unite with any portion or 
all of my countrymen in defense of the integrity of the 
Republic." So it was that the convention met, and 
adopted what is known in our political history as "The 
Georgia Platform." This platform said that Georgia 
held the American Union secondary in importance to 
the rights and principles it was bound to perpetuate; 
that, as the Thirteen Colonies found union impossible 
without compromise, the thirty-one of that day would 



255 

yield somewhat in the conflict of opinion and poHcy, to 
preserve the Union ; that Georgia had maturely con- 
sidered the action of Congress in adopting the compro- 
mise measures, and, while she did not wholly approve 
that action, would abide by it as a permanent adjustment 
of this sectional controversy ; that the State would in 
future resist, even to the disruption of the Union, any 
act prohibiting slavery in the Territories, or a refusal to 
admit a slave State into the Union. 

Thus the Union was saved in 1850 by the very man 
who had been charged with trying to break it up. The 
eyes of the whole South were turned to Georgia during 
that campaign ; and when the people, under the leader- 
ship of Toombs, Stephens, and Howell Cobb, voted to 
save the Union, the tide of disunion was turned every- 
where. The Georgia platform was made the platform 
of the constitutional Union party in the Southern States. 
In Mississippi, Henry S. Foote, the Union candidate, 
defeated Jefferson Davis for governor. The action of 
Georgia strengthened the Union sentiment in all parts 
of the country. 

For a while the situation was secure and satisfactory ; 
but, in the nature of things, this could not last. The 
politicians were busy while the people were asleep. 
The Know-nothing party sprang up in a night, and 
divided the people again ; and in Congress the slavery 
discussion was renewed with extreme bitterness over 
the bills to admit the Territories of Kansas and Ne- 
braska as States. This controversy was even more 
exciting than that which resulted in the Compromise 
Laws of 1850. Following close upon this agitation 



256 

came John Brown's raid into Virginia, and his attack 
on Harpers Ferry. In ordinary times this raid would 
have been regarded with contempt by the Southern 
people. It was a ridiculous affair, — the act of a man 
who had worked himself up into a frenzy of folly. If 
the people themselves had not been influenced by pas- 
sion cunningly played on by the smaller politicians in 
both sections, poor old John Brown would not have 
been regarded as a murderer by the South nor as a 
martyr by the North. He would have been an object 
of pity to the sensible men of both sections. 

But the state of public opinion was such at that 
time, that this ridiculous venture of a crazy old man 
was a tremendous shock to the South. It contributed 
more largely than any other event to alarm the people 
of this section, and to turn their minds to secession as 
a relief from, and a remedy for, such attacks upon the 
peace and good order of society. It was a great stimu- 
lant to those who had long been in favor of disunion, as 
well as to those at the North who were ready to get 
rid of slavery by violence. Following this raid, public 
opinion both North and South became so violently agi- 
tated, that the voices of conservative men could not 
be heard above the storm. It was the hour of the agi- 
tator and the extremist, and they made the most of it. 
The Democratic Convention, to nominate a candidate 
for President and Vice-President, met in Charleston on 
the 23d of April, i860, and remained in session until 
the second day of May. The confused state of public 
opinion was shown by the turbulent division in that 
convention. 



'^ -•;,'- 'N (■■ 



257 

At a moment when the wise men of the 

Democratic party, or of any party, 

ought to have taken hold of affairs ^^■ 

and made their influence felt, 

they seemed to be unequal to 

the occasion. The members 

of the convention could not 

agree, and the body ad- ^-^ ^k % 

iourned to meet in Balli- r/l \ Ir^Z 
•" \\ ^ m\^ '^^ 

more. But the division v^^*i|-l-^ , 

contmued and grew 

wider. The differences 

could not be settled. 

One faction nominated 

Douglas and Johnson, 

and the other nominated 

Breckinridge and Lane. The 

result was the election of Lincoln and Hamlin as the 

candidates of the Republican party. 

In Georgia three of the ablest men still stood for the 
Union, — Alexander H. Stephens, Herschel V. John- 
son, and Benjamin H. Hill. But they were unable to 
stem the tide. The vote of the State for members of 
the convention that passed the ordinance of secession 
showed a majority of only thirteen thousand for dis- 
union ; but Toombs, Thomas R. R. Cobb, Howell Cobb, 
and others seized the advantage that events gave 
them, and, in a whirlwind of passion, swept aside all the 
arguments and appeals of the more conservative men. 
But, of all those who were in favor of secession, 
Toombs was at that time the most powerful and influ- 

STO. OK (iA. — 17 




258 

ential. He so managed matters in Congress as to 
make the secession of Georgia follow the inevitable 
failure of measures that he proposed in that body. 

With the people of the South, and indeed with the 
people of the whole country, divided between three 
parties, the election of a Republican candidate was a 
foregone conclusion. Following this came secession, 
with all the terrible disasters of a war in which the 
South could not have hoped to succeed if reason and 
common sense had ruled. If the South had fought for 
her constitutional rights in the Union and under the 
old flag, the result might have been different. She 
would have had the active sympathy and support of 
that large and influential body of Northern men who 
were sincerely anxious to see the terms of the Constitu- 
tion faithfully carried out. But disunion was more than 
these constitutional Democrats could stand. Daniel 
Webster had solidified their love for the Union, and no 
consideration of party could affect it. 

The course of the South, considering all that was 
involved, should have been conservative ; but it was not. 
It is perfectly well known now that Abraham Lincoln 
was willing to sacrifice the abolition party on the altar 
of the Union. He was prompt to announce his policy 
in this respect. But secession came, and with it came 
the doom of slavery. That all was ordered by Provi- 
dence, it would be foolish to deny ; and yet it is im- 
possible not to regret the great sacrifice of blood and 
treasure that was demanded by the unhappy war that 
followed secession. 



THE FARMER BOY OF GADDISTOWN. 

IN 1857, when Bob Toombs was looking after his large 
landed possessions in Texas, and bringing the squat- 
ters to terms, he received a letter from one of his polit- 
ical friends, announcing that the Democratic State 
Convention had adjourned after nominating Joseph E. 
Brown as a candidate for governor. Toombs was travel- 
ing with a party of friends, and to one of them he read 
the letter. Then in a dazed way he asked, *' Who is 
Joe Brown .'' " His friend knew no more about Joe 
Brown than Senator Toombs did, and all the way home 
the travelers were puzzling themselves with the ques- 
tion, '* Who is Joe Brown ? " They were destined to find 
out; for the convention that nominated Joe Brown for 
governor brought to the front in Georgia politics one of 
the most remarkable men the State has ever known. 

Shortly after his return to Georgia from Texas, 
Toombs was compelled to meet Joe Brown to consult in 
regard to the details of the campaign in which both 
were interested. It must have been an interesting 
meeting. It was as if Prince Charlie and Cromwell had 
met to arrange a campaign. It was a meeting between 
Puritan and Cavalier. Toombs was full-blooded, hot- 
headed, impetuous, imperious. Joe Brown was pale, 
angular, awkward, cold, and determined. It was as it 

259 



26o 

in a new land the old issues had been buried. Toombs 
was a man of the people, but in his own way, and it 
was a princely and a dashing way. Brown was a man 
of the people, but in the people's way ; and it was a 
cold, calculating, determined, and common-sense way. 
Howell Cobb had written to Toombs to go to the aid of 
Brown, expressing a fear that the nominee, being a new 
and an untried man, would not be able to hold his own 
against Ben Hill, who was the candidate of the Ameri- 
can or Know-nothing party for governor. So the dash- 
ing and gallant senator sought out the new and 
unknown Democratic candidate for governor, and had 
a conference with him. Toombs found the young man 
strangely cold and placid, and yet full of the determi- 
nation that martyrs are made of. He found that Joe 
Brown had already mapped out and arranged the plans 
for his campaign, and the more experienced politicians 
saw nothing to change in them. They were marked 
by shrewdness and sagacity, and covered every detail 
of party organization. This was satisfactory ; but how 
could the young man sustain himself on the stump 
against such a speaker as Ben Hill, who, although a 
young man, was a speaker of great force and power ? 
Toombs thought it would be better to meet Hill himself, 
and he started out with that purpose; but when he 
heard Joe Brown make two or three speeches, and saw 
the tremendous effect he produced on the minds of the 
audiences that assembled to hear him, the older cam- 
paigner went home, satisfied that young Brown needed 
no instruction and no coaching in the difficult art of 
influencing the people and winning their votes. 



26 1 

The personal history and career of Joseph E. Brown 
should be studied by every ambitious boy in the land, 
especially by those who imagine they cannot succeed 
because they lack opportunities that money and friends 
would obtain for them. From 1857 to the close of the 
war, and after, the political hiscory of Joe Brown is the 
history of the State ; but that history, attractive as it is, 
is not so interesting as his struggle to make a name for 
himself in the world. Joseph E. Brown was born in 
Pickens County, South Carolina, and was the eldest of 
eleven children. His famaly was English. His grand- 
father fought manfully against the British and Tories 
in the Revolutionary War. His father fought under 
Andrew Jackson during the War of 18 12, and was at 
the battle of New Orleans on the 8th of January, 18 15. 

Joe Brown was born in 1821. His parents were not 
so well off as to be able to send the lad continuously to 
school as he grew up. He had to ''take his chances." 
He was compelled to work in the fields in season, and 
was permitted to go to school only when there was 
nothing for him to do on the little farm. He did farm 
labor from the time he was eight until he reached the 
age of nineteen, and the schooling he had received was 
only of the most haphazard kind. 

Before he was grown, his father moved from South 
Carolina into Georgia, settling in Union County, near a 
little valley named Gaddistown. Up to this time, though 
young Brown was nineteen years of age, he had learned 
nothing but reading, writing, and arithmetic, and very 
little of these. He was now compelled to work harder 
than ever. Settling in a new country, and on new land 



262 

that had to be cleared before it would yield a crop, the 
Browns had as much as they could do to get the farm 
in order in time for the planting season ; and in this 
severe work, Joseph E., being the eldest son, was the 
chief reliance of the family. He had a pair of small 
steers with which he plowed ; and when he wasn't 
plowing on the farm, he was hauling wood and butter 
and vegetables to the small market at Dahlonega, and 
taking back in truck and trade some necessary article 
for the family. In this way he learned the lessons of 
patience, self-control, and tireless industry that all boys 
ought to learn, because they are not only the basis of 
content and happiness, but of all success. 

When Joe Brown was twenty years old, his father 
allowed him to seek an education. All he could do for 
the industrious and ambitious boy was to give him his 
blessing and the yoke of steers with which he had been 
plowing. With these young Brown returned to South 
Carolina and entered an academy in Anderson district. 
He gave the steers for eight months' board, and went 
into debt for the tuition fee. In the fall of 1841 he re- 
turned to Georgia and taught school for three months, 
and with the money he received for this he paid for the 
schooling he had gone in debt for. He returned to the 
Carolina academy in 1842, and went into debt not only 
for his schooling, but for his board. His patience and 
his untiring industry enabled him to make such rapid 
progress that within two years he had fitted himself to 
enter an advanced class in college. But the lack of 
means prevented him from entering college. Instead 
he returned to Georgia and opened a school at Canton, 



263 

Cherokee County. He opened this school with six 
pupils, and the number rapidly increased to sixty, so 
that he was able in a short time to settle the debts he 
had made in Carolina. He taught school all day, and 
at night and on Saturdays devoted himself to the study 




of law. He was admitted to the bar in 1845, ^^^"^<^^ ^^^^-^ 
at once successful. He made no pretense of oratory ; 
but his simple and unpretending style, his homely and 
direct way of putting a case, and his faculty of applying 
the test of common sense to all cjuestions, were as suc- 
cessful with juries as they afterwards proved to be with 
the people ; and before the people he was irresistible. 



264 

But he was not yet through with his studies. A 
friend advanced him the money necessary to enter the 
Law School of Yale; and there, from October, 1845, 
to June, 1846, when he graduated, he took the lead in 
all his classes, and had time to attend lectures in other 
departments of the college. He returned home, began 
active practice, and was soon prosperous. He became 
a State senator, and was afterwards made a judge of 
the superior courts. 

When the Democratic Convention met in Milledge- 
ville in 1857, for the purpose of nominating a candidate 
for governor, it had so many popular candidates to 
choose from, and these candidates had so many and 
such strong friends, that the members found it impos- 
sible to agree on a man. A great many ballots were 
taken, and there was a good deal of "log-rolling" and 
" buttonholing," as the politicians call it, on behalf of 
the various candidates by their special friends. But all 
this did no good. There was a deadlock. No one of 
the candidates was able to obtain a two-thirds majority, 
which, according to Democratic law, was the number 
necessary to a nomination. Twenty-one ballots had 
been taken with no result, and the convention had been 
in session three days. Finally it was decided to appoint 
a special committee made up of three delegates from 
each congressional district. It was the duty of this 
committee to name a candidate on whom the conven- 
tion could agree. When this committee retired, it was 
proposed that a ballot be taken, each committeeman 
writing the name of the candidate of his choice on a 
slip of paper, and depositing the slip in a hat. This was 



265 

done ; but before the ballots were counted, Judge Lin- 
ton Stephens, a brother of Alexander H., stated that 
such a formality was not necessary. He thereupon 
moved that Judge Joseph E. Brown of Cherokee be 
selected as the compromise man, and that his name be 
reported to the convention. This was agreed to unani- 
mously, and Joseph E. Brown was nominated; and yet, 
if the written ballots had been counted, it would have 
been found that Alfred H. Colquitt, who afterwards 
became so distinguished in Georgia, had been nomi- 
nated by the committee. He received a majority of 
one of the written ballots when they were afterwards 
counted through curiosity. Twenty-three years later, 
Colquitt, who was then governor, made Joseph E. 
Brown a United States senator under circumstances 
that aroused strong opposition, and immediately after- 
wards Brown aided Colquitt to a reelection in one of 
the bitterest contests the State has ever witnessed. 

The unexpected nomination of Brown by the conven- 
tion of 1857 introduced into State politics the most 
potent element that it had ever known. The nomi- 
nation, surprising as it was, was not half so surprising 
as some of the results that have followed it. At the 
moment the convention nominated him, Joe Brown was 
tying wheat in one of his fields near Canton, in Chero- 
kee County. He was then judge of the Blue Ridge 
Circuit ; and on the day that his name was placed before 
the Democratic Convention at Milledgeville, he had re- 
turned home. After dinner he went out into his farm 
to see how his men were getting on. He had four men 
cutting wheat with cradles, Uxid he found the binders 



266 

very much behind. About half-past two o'clock he 
pulled off his coat and ordered the binders to keep 
up with him. It was on the 15th of June, 1857. The 
weather was very warm, but he kept at work all the 
afternoon. About sundown he went home, and was 
preparing to bathe, when a neighbor, who had been to 
Marietta and heard the news, rode to his house and 
told him about the nomination, which had been made at 
three o'clock that afternoon. Telling about the inci- 
dent afterwards, Joe Brown, with a twinkle in his eye, 
said that he had heard that a good many men were 
anxious to buy that wheat field, so as to have an oppor- 
tunity to tie wheat in it while a nominating convention 
was in session. 

The great majority of the people of the State were as 
much puzzled about Joe Brown as Toombs was. Either 
they had not heard of him before, or they had for- 
gotten him. In those days a man who made a reputa- 
tion in the Cherokee country was not known to the rest 
of the State for a long time. The means of communi- 
cation were slow and uncertain. But the whole State 
found him out just as Toombs did. He was prompt to 
begin the campaign. Toombs had already left the 
Whig party, and was acting with the Democrats. 
Stephens had left the Whigs, but had not become a 
Democrat. He was an Independent. He was, as he 
expressed it, "toting his own skillet." Ben Hill was 
Joe Brown's opponent, and these two met in debate 
before the people on two or three occasions. It was 
thought at first that Mr. Hill had the advantage of the 
tall and ungainly candidate from Cherokee, but the end 



267 

of the contest showed that the advantage was all the 
other way. Mr. Hill was a man of very marked ability. 
He was one of the few good speakers who could write 
well, and one of the few fine writers who could speak 
well. He had courage, he had wit, he had learning, he 
had eloquence ; he had everything, in fact, to attract 
popular approval and entice a popular following ; but 
somehow, and until the very kitest years of his life, 
he fell far short of being a popular idol. He was showy 
and effective before a mixed crowd, he never failed to 
attract applause, and it was supposed that Brown was 
making a losing campaign ; but the campaign was 
going just the other way. Hill, in the course of his 
discussion, said hundreds of things that the people 
applauded ; while Brown said hundreds of things that 
the people remembered, and carried home with them, 
and thought over. Joe Brown was not only a man of 
the people, but a man of the country people ; and he 
pleased the city people who had formerly lived in the 
country. The result of the campaign was that Know- 
nothingism was buried out of sight in Georgia. Joe 
Brown was elected by more than ten thousand majority, 
and the Democratic majority in the Legislature was 
overwhelming. 

Although he was only thirty-six years old when he 
became governor, the people began to call him " Old 
Judg;;/t7//." This was due no less to his peculiar gift 
of hard common sense than to his peculiar pronuncia- 
tion. His speech and his ways were ''countrified," and 
they remained so all the days of his life. His voice 
was not musical, and he had a peculiar drawling in- 



268 

tonation, which, if it had been a little more nasal, 
would have been an exact reproduction of the tone and 
manner of the Down-east Yankee. He shared these 
peculiarities with hundreds of the descendants of the 
Puritans who settled in the mountains of East Tennes- 
see and North Georgia. He had no wish for the luxu- 
ries of life ; and though he lived comfortably, he never, 
even when by close economy he had accumulated one 
of the largest fortunes in Georgia, cared to live finely. 
He was a plain man at first and a plain man at last, 
always temperate, industrious, and economical. 

His term of office in the governor's chair was for 
two years, and at the end of that time he had almost 
entirely remolded and refashioned his party. He had 
stamped his own personality and character upon it, and 
it became in truth and in fact the party of the people, 
— the common people. In his management of State 
affairs he had introduced the plain business methods 
suggested by common sense ; he dispensed with all 
unnecessary officials ; he shook off all the hangers-on ; 
he uprooted all personal schemes : so that when the 
time came to nominate a man to succeed him, it was 
found that the people had no other choice. His party 
thought of no other name. 

The year of Joe Brown's second nomination, as we 
have seen, was the year that witnessed John Brown's 
ridiculous raid into Virginia. The people of the South, 
however, thought it was a very serious matter, and the 
people of Georgia were not different from those of the 
rest of the South. Some very wise men allowed them- 
selves to be led away by their passions. Even Joe 



269 

Brown, as Alexander Stephens once said, *' tucked his 
judgment under the bed " for the time being. Back of 
the indignation created by the John Brown raid was 
the unconfessed and half-formed fear that the Northern 
abolitionists w^ould send their agents to the South and 
organize a negro insurrection. Many of the Southern 
people remembered the horrors of San Domingo, and 
there was a vague and an undefined but constant dread 
that such a rising of the blacks would take place in 
the South. But there never was any such danger in 
Georgia. The relations between the slaves and their 
masters were too friendly and familiar to make such an 
uprising possible. The abolitionists did send agents to 
the South to stir the negroes to rebellion, and some of 
them came to Georgia, but in every instance their mis- 
sion became known to the whites through the friend- 
liness of the blacks. There was always some negro 
ready to tell his master's family when the abolition 
agents made their appearance. Still the people re- 
sented to the utmost the spirit that moved certain 
so-called philanthropists of the North to endeavor to 
secure the freedom of the negroes by means of the 
torch and midnight murder. 

Consequently in 1859, when Joe Brown was nomi- 
nated for governor the second time, the people were 
greatly stirred. Sectional feeling ran high. In that year 
began the active movement that led to secession and the 
civil war. If all our statesmen had been as wise as Mr. 
Stephens and Mr. Hill, war wt)u1(1 have been averted. 
Slavery itself, in the very nature of things, was dopmed. 
It had accomplished its providential mission. It had 



2/0 

civilized and christianized millions of savages who had 
been redeemed from slavery in their own land. It had jus- 
tified its own ends, and would have passed away in good 
time, no matter what compromise may have been made. 

Mr. Stephens and Mr. Hill were opposed to seces- 
sion. They were for fighting, if there must be a fight, 
in the Union, and this was the true policy. For a 
while the people of Georgia were earnestly in favor 
of this ; but the efforts of the abolitionists to stir the 
negroes to insurrection, and the inflammatory appeals 
of some of the leading men, led them to oppose a policy 
which was at once just, wise, and considerate. Even 
Joseph E. Brown, cool, calculating, placid, and not easily 
swayed by emotion, became a disunionist, demonstrat- 
ing once again that beneath the somber and calm exte- 
rior of the Puritan is to be found a nature as combative 
and as unyielding as that which marks the Cavalier. 

Joe Brown was reelected in 1859, and did everything 
in his power as governor to hasten the event of seces- 
sion. The National Democratic Convention met in 
Charleston, and the meeting showed that the differences 
between the Democrats could not be settled ; and it so 
happened, that, while the South was opposed by the 
solid and rapidly growing Republican party, the people 
of the South w^ere divided among themselves. What 
is most remarkable, the people of the South, after mak- 
ing the election of the Republican candidate certain by 
dividing among themselves, seemed to be amazed at 
the result. In some instances county meetings were 
held in Georgia, and resolutions sent to the Legislature 
declaring the election of Lincoln and Hamlin *' a viola- 



2/1 

tion of national comity." Nothing could show more 
clearly that the minds of the voters were upset. 

On Dec. 20, i860, South Carolina seceded from the 
Union, and the event was made the occasion for great 
rejoicing by the secession element in Georgia. Bonfires 
were kindled, guns were fired, and people seemed to be 
wild with enthusiasm. Georgia did not secede until Jan. 
19, 1861 ; but Governor Brown did not wait for that 
event. He committed the first overt act of the war. 
He seized Fort Pulaski, on the Savannah, Jan. 3, 1861. 

On the 2 2d of January, ten cases of muskets be- 
longing to a firm in Macon were seized by the New 
York police after they had been placed on board a 
vessel. Governor Brown sent a telegram to Governor 
Morgan, demanding the release of these arms. Gov- 
ernor Morgan hesitated some time before he made any 
response. Meanwhile, Governor Brov/n waited three 
days, and then ordered the seizure of every ship in the 
harbor of Savannah belonging to citizens of New York. 
Two brigs, two barks, and a schooner were seized and 
held by the State troops. When this seizure was made 
known. Governor Brown received official notification 
that the arms had been released. He therefore ordered 
the release of the vessels. But when the agents of the 
Macon firm made an effort to get the arms, they were 
refused. Promptly Governor Brown seized other ves- 
sels, and caused them to be advertised for sale. 

This was merely the beginning of those greater 
events that cast a shadow over the whole country. 
The farmer boy of Gaddistown was reelected governor 
in 1 86 1, and continued to hold the office until 1865. 




GEORGIA IN THE WAR. 



w 



HEN the Southern 
Confederacy was 
organized at Montgom- 
ery, Ala., there was great 
enthusiasm all over the 
South, especially in Geor- 
and this feeling kept up 
until the State had given to 
the Confederate armies a hun- 
dred and twenty thousand sol- 
diers, twenty thousand more 
than its voting population. By 
reason of the fame and number of its 
public men, Georgia had a controlling influence in the 
organization of the new government. Howell Cobb was 
president of the convention of the seceded States that 
met in Montgomery on the fourth day of February, 1861 ; 
and it is well known that the convention itself was in 
favor of making Robert Toombs president of the provi- 
sional government that was there formed. Mr. Toombs, 
however, expressly forbade the use of his name. The 
Georgia delegates then concluded to support Jefferson 
Davis of Mississippi for president, and Alexander H. 
Stephens of Georgia for vice-president,. 

272 



273 

Only a few men doubted that the South would con- 
quer the North, and among these was Herschel V. 
Johnson. There was an idea abroad that one South- 
erner could whip a dozen Northerners. Nobody knows 
how this idea got out, nor why the absurdity of it was 
not plain to all ; but the newspapers were full of it, and 
the speech makers insisted on it so roundly that the 
people began to believe it. One orator declared that he 
could take one company of " Southrons," arm them 
with popguns, and run a regiment of Yankees out of 
the country. Another stated that he would be will- 
ing to drink all the blood that would be shed as the 
result of secession. It is said that both of these ora- 
tors were asked for an explanation by their constituents 
after the war was over. The first said that the reason 
he didn't run the Yankees out of the country with pop- 
guns was because they wouldn't fight that way. The 
second one, who had promised to drink all the blood, 
said that exposure in camp had interfered with his 
digestion, and his appetite wasn't as good as it ought 
to be. 

At this time and afterwards there was an overwhelm- 
ing sentiment in favor of the Union in some parts of 
North Georgia. The people of that section had few 
slaves, and the arguments in favor of the protection of 
slavery in the Territories did not appeal to them : con- 
sequently they were opposed to secession. There was 
but one thing that prevented serious trouble between 
these Union men and the State government, and that 
was the fact that Joe Brown was goverrior. He knew 
the North Georgians thoroughly, and he knew precisely 
sTo. ()K (;a. — iS 



274 

how to deal with them. General Harrison W. Riley, a 
leading citizen of Lumpkin County, declared that he 
intended to seize the mint at Dahlonega, and hold it 
for the United States. This threat was telegraphed to 
Governor Brown by some of the secession leaders in 
that part of the State, and they appealed to him to send 
troops to Dahlonega at once, and seize the mint by 
force. But the governor knew Riley and the people 
of North Georgia too well to make any show of force. 
He knew that any such demonstration would excite 
sympathy for Riley, and inflame the Union sentiment 
there. So Governor Brown wrote to some of Riley's 
friends, telling them what he had heard, and saying that 
he had known General Riley too long, and had too high 
an opinion of his good sense and patriotism, to believe 
the report. At the same time the governor informed 
the superintendent of the mint that the State of Georgia 
now held that institution. The superintendent said he 
was willing to act under the orders of the governor. 

At Jasper, the county seat of Pickens County, the 
feeling of loyalty to the Union was very strong. The 
delegate from that county to the State convention had 
refused to sign his name to the ordinance of secession. 
Soon after the State had seceded, the citizens of Jasper 
planted a pole, and raised on it a United States flag, 
and kept it floating there for several weeks in open de- 
fiance of the Confederate and State authorities. This 
was an event to be delicately handled. The slightest 
mistake would have created a state of feeling in North 
Georgia that would have given no end of trouble during 
the whole war. But the Union flag floating in Pickens 



275 

County irritated the rest of the State ; and hundreds of 
appeals were made to Governor Brown to send troops 
to Jasper, and have the flag taken down by force. To 
these appeals he made but one response, and then 
turned a deaf ear to all criticism. ** Let the flag float 
there," he said. " It floated over our fathers, and we 
all love the flag now. We have only been compelled 
to lay it aside by the injustice that has been practiced 
under its folds. If the people of Pickens desire to 
hang it out and keep it there, let them do so. I shall 
send no troops to interfere with it." 

While this wise management on the part of Gov- 
ernor Brown did not change the sentiments of the 
Union men of North Georgia, it prevented any serious 
outbreak, and kept them soothed and quieted through- 
out the war. Matters were managed differently in East 
Tennessee ; and the result was, that the Union men of 
that section went into the business of bushwhacking, 
and created a great deal of trouble. While Governor 
Brown exercised authority without regard for precedent, 
the time and the occasion being without precedent, he 
was very wise and very prudent in meeting such emer- 
gencies as those that arose in North Georgia. 

By the time the election for governor came on, Joe 
Brown had aroused a good deal of opposition. He had 
had a controversy with the Confederate authorities be- 
cause the latter had enrolled troops from Georgia with- 
out first making a requisition on the governor. He had 
seized several cargoes of salt which the speculators had 
been holding for higher prices. There was at that 
early day, and all during the war, a salt famine in the 



2/6 

South. The farmers found it difficult to save their 
meat, owing to the scarcity of salt. It is a curious fact, 
that, when the famine was at its height, a pound of salt 
was worth a pound of silver. Foreseeing this famine, 
a great many shrewd business men had laid in large 
stocks of salt, storing it about in large warehouses in 
different parts of the State. They were about to real- 
ize immense fortunes out of the sufferings of the people, 
when Governor Brown stepped in and seized all the 
salt the State authorities could lay hands on, and pro- 
hibited the shipment of the article out of the State. 
The Legislature afterwards came to the support of the 
governor ; but if the matter had been discussed in the 
Legislature in advance of the action of the executive, 
the speculators w^ould have had timely notice, and the 
State authorities would have found no salt to seize. 

This salt famine was almost as serious as any result 
of the war, and it hung over the State until the close 
of the contest. In thousands of instances the planters 
who had been prodigal of salt before the war, dug up 
the dirt floors of their smokehouses, and managed to 
extract a small supply of the costly article. The Legis- 
lature was compelled to organize a salt bureau, and for 
that purpose half a million dollars was appropriated. 
The State, in self-defense, took into its own hands the 
monopoly of manufacturing salt and of distributing it to 
the people. 

The next difficulty with which the people of Georgia 
had to contend was the Conscription Act. This act 
passed the Confederate Congress in April, 1862. It 
had been recommended by Mr. Davis in a special mes- 



277 



sage, and Congress promptly passed it. Nobody in 
Georgia could understand why such a law had been 
recommended, or why it had passed. It was the most 
ruinous blunder of the Confederate 
Government during the war. If 
such a law was necessary, it 
showed that the Confed- 
eracy had fallen to 
pieces. If it was 
not necessary, its 
enactment was a 
stupendous piece 
of folly ; and 
such it turned 
out to be. Un- 
der the last call 
for troops for 
Confederate ser- 
vice, Governor 
Brown had no 
difficulty in furnish- 
ing eighteen regi- 
ments. He could 
have gone on furnish 
ing troops as long as 
there was any fighting material 

left in the State ; but as soon as the Conscript Act went 
into operation, the ardor of the people sensibly cooled. 
The foolish law not only affected the people at home, 
but hurt the army in the field. It was a reflection on 
the patriotism of the whole Southern ]:)opulation. The 




2/8 

law was the occasion of a controversy between Gov- 
ernor Brown and President Davis, in which Brown, in 
the nature of things, had a decided advantage ; for the 
Conscript Act wiped out the whole theory of State rights, 
on which the people of the South depended to justify 
secession. But Georgia did not stand in the way of 
the law. It was enforced, and the terms of its enforce- 
ment did the work of disorganization more thoroughly 
than the hard times and the actual war were doing it. 

In March, 1863, the governor issued a proclamation 
convening the Legislature in special session to discuss 
the subject of bread. This was a very important sub- 
ject at that time. In his message, the governor said 
that the time had come for the farmers to raise bread 
instead of cotton. He also laid before the Legislature 
the reports of the distribution of the fund of two and a 
half millions of dollars for the support of the indigent 
families of soldiers. These reports showed what havoc 
the war had created among the people of a State which, 
not much more than two years before, was one of the 
most prosperous in the country. The fund had been 
distributed among more than eighty-four thousand 
people. Of this number, about forty-six thousand were 
children, twenty-four thousand were kinswomen of poor 
living soldiers, eight thousand were orphans, four thou- 
sand were widows of dead soldiers, and five hundred 
were soldiers disabled in service. Governor Brown, out 
of his own barn, gave the people of Cherokee County 
four thousand dollars' worth of corn. These events 
show the straits to which the people had been reduced 
by two years of actual war. 



279 

It should be borne in mind, however, that the people 
had to fight the Union army in front, and the specula- 
tors and extortioners in the rear. Governor Brown tried 
hard to make the lives of this latter class entirely miser- 
able, and he succeeded in a way that delighted the 
people. Wherever he could get his hands on a specula- 
tor or extortioner, he shook him up. He made many 
seizures, and confiscated the hoards of a great many 
men who had influence with some of the newspapers ; 
and in this way life in the State was made almost as 
exciting as the experience of the soldiers at the front. 

In 1863, Governor Brown wanted to retire from office. 
The strain on his health and strength had been very 
severe, and he felt that he was breaking down. He 
wanted to make Toombs, who was then a general in 
the army, his successor. But Brown's friends insisted 
that he should make the race. The public opinion of 
Georgia and of the whole South insisted on it. So he 
became a candidate for a fourth term. He had two 
opponents, — Joshua Hill, who had been a strong Union 
man ; and Timothy Furlow, who was an ardent seces- 
sionist and a strong supporter of the Confederate 
administration ; but Governor Brown was elected by a 
large majority over both candidates. 

The war went steadily on, and during the year 1864 
Georgia became the battle ground, — the strategic point. 
This fact the Union commanders realized very early, 
and began their movements accordingly. Virginia was 
merely the gateway to the Confederacy, but Georgia 
was very near the center of its vitality. This was shown 
by the fact that when Atlanta fell, and Sherman began 



28o 

his destructive march to the sea, it was known on all 
sides that the Confederate Government was doomed. 
This movement, strange to say, was hastened by the 
Confederate authorities. General Joseph E. Johnston, 
one of the greatest commanders of the war, was re- 
moved at a critical moment, when his well-disciplined 
army had reached Atlanta. He was ordered from Rich- 
mond to turn his army over to the command of Gen- 
eral Hood, and within a very few days the fate of the 
Confederacy had been decided. Hood at once ordered 
an attack on Sherman's lines. He was repulsed, and 
then compelled to evacuate the city. General Sher- 
man detached General Thomas from his main army to 
follow Hood on his march toward the Tennessee, and 
moved across the State to Savannah. Within a very 
few months thereafter the war was brought to a close. 
Colonel I. W. Avery, in his ** History of Georgia," says 
that on the thirty-first day of December, 1864, one 
dollar in gold was worth forty-nine dollars in Confed- 
erate money. The private soldier received eleven dol- 
lars of this money for a month's service. He could 
buy a pound of meat with his month's pay. He could 
buy a drink of whisky, and have one dollar left over. 
With four months' pay he could buy a bushel of wheat. 
General Toombs once humorously declared that a negro 
pressman worked all day printing money, and then until 
nine o'clock at night to pay himself off. There was a 
grain of truth in this humor, — just enough to picture 
the situation as by a charcoal sketch. 



A DARING ADVENTURE. 

ONE fine morning in April, 1862, a ''mixed" train 
pulled out of the old car shed in Atlanta for Chat- 
tanooga. It was called a ''mixed" train because it was 
made up of freight cars and passenger coaches. There 
were three box cars next to the locomotive, then came 
the baggage car and the passenger coaches. The train 
started from Atlanta at an early hour, — about half-past 
three o'clock, — arrived at Marietta a few minutes before 
four, and stopped at Big Shanty about six for break- 
fast. At Marietta, early as the hour was, a number of 
passengers were waiting to take the train. This excited 
no remark. There was a good deal of travel on the 
State Road at that time, and in fact on all the roads, — 
wounded soldiers coming home on furloughs, and re- 
cruits and soldiers going to the front. 

The conductor of the train was Mr. W. A. Fuller, 
and the engineer was Jeff. Cain. Mr. Antony Murphy, 
the superintendent of the road shops, was also on the 
train, and he joined the conductor and the engineer 
as they went in to breakfast. The passengers were 
allowed twenty minutes for breakfast ; but the crew 
of the train were in the habit of dispatching their meals 
a little quicker tlian this, so as to see that everything 
about the locomotive was shipshape when the conductor 

281 



282 



tapped the bell. But before Conductor Fuller and 
Engineer Cain were through with their breakfast, they 
heard their locomotive pull out from the station. 

**What does that mean.?" cried Superintendent Mur- 
phy, rising from the table. 

There was no reply, and none was necessary. Con- 
ductor Fuller and 
Engineer Cain rose 
as quickly as Mur- 
phy did, and rushed 
with him to the 
door. There they 
saw their locomo- 
tive moving up the 
road with the three 
box cars attached. 
Inside the box cars 
they could see the 
figures of men. 
Grabbing their 
hats. Murphy, Ful- 
ler, and Cain fol- 
lowed the train on 
the run. Thou- 
sands of soldiers were standing around the station. 
They had no idea what was taking place. They 
thought either that the locomotive had been carried up 
the track to take on another freight car, or that some 
practical joker was playing a prank. They showed 
their enjoyment of the situation by laughing boister- 
ously and cheering loudly when Murphy, Fuller, and 
Cain started after the flying locomotive on foot. 




283 

Nobody knew that the locomotive had been captured. 
Murphy and Fuller suspected it, but they were not 
certain until after they had followed it a little distance. 
The way the capture had come about was this : Early 
in 1862 the Federal commanders planned an advance 
on Chattanooga ; but the fact that stood in their way 
was, that at various points along the line of railroad 
leading from Atlanta to Chattanooga, Confederate 
troops had been posted : consequently the moment an 
advance on Chattanooga was made, soldiers and war 
supplies could be hurried forward to the relief of the 
city. It was General Mitchell of the Federal army who 
planned the advance ; and it was J. J. Andrews, an 
active spy in the Union service, who planned a raid by 
means of which it was intended to burn the bridges on 
the road north of Marietta, cut the telegraph wires, and 
thus destroy for a time the lines of transportation and 
communication between Atlanta and Chattanooga, and 
make the capture of the last-named point an easy mat- 
ter. Andrews suggested to General Mitchell that a 
party of bold men could make their way to a station on 
the Western and Atlantic Railway (called the State Road 
because it was owned by the State), capture a locomo- 
tive, and then steam towards Chattanooga, burning the 
bridges and cutting the telegraph lines as they went 
along. Although there seemed to be small chance for 
the success of such a daring adventure. General Mitchell 
gave his consent to it, agreeing to pay Andrews sixty 
thousand dollars if he succeeded. To aid him, Andrews 
was allowed to select a number of young men who had 
already made a reputation in the Federal army for 
intelligence and bravery. 



284 

There were twenty-four men in this small expedition 
when it started for Chattanooga, They were under the 
command of Andrews, who was a tall, handsome man 
with a long black beard. He was cold, impassive, and 
had the air of one who is born to command. He was 
bold as a lion, and never once lost his coolness, his firm- 
ness, or his decision. He and his men pretended to be 
Kentuckians who had become disgusted with the Lin- 
coln government and were making their way South, 
where they might find more congenial company than 
that of the ardent Union men who were their neighbors 
at home. This story was plausible on the face of it, 
for many Southern sympathizers had fled from Tennes- 
see and Kentucky when the Federals began to take 
possession of those sections. 

Andrews and his men tramped southward more than 
a hundred miles before they reached Chattanooga. 
Before going into that city, they divided into smaller 
squads, and all but two succeeded in eluding guards, 
sentinels, and patrols, and passing into the town. They 
left Chattanooga on a train bound for Atlanta, buying 
tickets for Marietta. They reached Marietta in safety, 
and went to different hotels for the night. They had 
arranged to meet again at four o'clock the next morn- 
ing and take the north-bound train. Two of the men 
were not called by the clerk of the hotel at which they 
stopped : consequently they overslept, and their com- 
panions had to go on without them when the train 
arrived. They had learned that Big Shanty had no 
telegraph office, and that it was a breakfast station. 
At that point Andrews determined to capture the loco- 



285 

motive. It was not long before the brakeman put his 
head in at the door of the car and yelled out, *' Big 
Shanty ! Twenty minutes for breakfast! " 

Andrews and his men looked out of the windows of 
the car as the train drew up at the station, and the 
sight they saw was not calculated to make them feel 
certain of success. Opposite the station was a field 
covered with the tents of soldiers, and in and around 
the station thousands of soldiers were loitering and 
standing about. When the train stopped, Andrews, 
the leader, and Knight, an engineer who had come with 
the party, rose and left the coach on the side oppo- 
site the depot, and went to the locomotive, which they 
found empty. They also saw that the track was clear. 
Andrews and Knight then walked back until they came 
to the last of the three box cars. Andrews told his 
engineer to uncouple the baggage car from the box 
car, and then wait for him. Knight did as he was told, 
while Andrews walked leisurely back to the passenger 
coach, opened the door, and said quietly, *' Now is our 
time, boys ! Come on ! " 

The men rose at once and went out of the coach. 
Knight, as soon as he saw them coming, climbed into 
the locomotive, cut the bell rope, and stood with his 
hand on the throttle, waiting for the word. Andrews 
stood near the locomotive, and motioned with his hand 
for the men to get into the box cars, the doors of which 
were slid back. All the men were now in the box cars 
except Andrews, Knight, and another engineer named 
Brown, who ran forward and climbed into the locomo- 
tive. While this was going on, a sentinel stood within 



286 

half a dozen yards of the train, but he had no idea what 
was occurring. Andrews gave the signal to go ahead. 
Instantly Knight pulled the throttle valve open, and 
the locomotive started forward with a jerk. It went 
puffing and snorting out of Big Shanty without let or 
hindrance. 

But the train had not gone very far before the speed 
of the locomotive began to slacken. The fire in the 
furnace refused to burn, and the steam was low. While 
the engineer was trying to discover what was wrong, 
Andrews ordered the men to cut the telegraph wire and 
tear up a rail from the track. By the time the rail 
had been torn up and the wire cut, the engineer had 
discovered that the dampers of the fire box were closed. 
With these open, the boiler began to make steam again, 
and the locomotive was soon rattling over the rails 
once more. It was the intention of Andrews to run 
the captured train on the time of the regular passenger 
train, so that he would have only one train to meet and 
pass before reaching the Resaca River, where he in- 
tended to burn the bridge. This done, it would have 
been an easy matter to burn the bridges over the Chicka- 
mauga. This crooked stream winds about the valleys 
so unexpectedly, and in such curious fashion, that the 
railroad crosses it eleven times within a few miles. 
These eleven bridges Andrews intended to burn as he 
went along, and then he would not fear pursuit. His 
success seemed to be certain. 

The captured locomotive, an old-fashioned machine 
with a big heavy smokestack, went clanking and clat- 
tering along the road, and reeling and rumbling through 



28; 

the towns, dragging after it the three box cars contain- 
ing the men whom Andrews had brought with him. 
After passing a station, the locomotive would be 
stopped and the wire cut. When the train reached 
Cassville, wood and water were running low, and a stop 
was made to get a fresh supply. The doors of the box 
cars were closed, and the men inside could not be seen. 
The station agent at this place was very inquisitive. 
He wanted to know why so small and insignificant a 
freight train was running on the time of the morning 
passenger train. Andrews promptly told the agent that 
the train was not a freight, but an express, and that it 
was carrying three cars of gunpowder to Beauregard. 
The agent believed the story, and furnished Andrews 
with a train schedule. 

From Cassville the distance to Kingston was seven 
miles, and at that point a freight train was to be passed. 
When Andrews reached the place, he found that the 
freight had not arrived. He therefore switched his 
train into a siding to wait for the freight train, and 
repeated his powder story for the benefit of the inquisi- 
tive. When the freight arrived, he saw that it carried 
a red flag. This meant another train was on the road. 
After another long half hour's wait, the second freight 
train came in sight, and Andrews was dismayed to see 
another red flag displayed. The railroad men said 
another train was following. The men on the captured 
train were compelled to wait more than an hour. To 
those shut up in the box cars this was a very trying 
time. They had no means of knowing what had hap- 
pened, or what was about to happen, until Knight, the 



288 



engineer, found an opportunity to saunter by and tell 
them what the trouble was. At the end of an hour the 
long wait was over. The freight trains had passed, 
and the captured locomotive, dragging the box cars, 
went swiftly out of Kingston. A short distance be- 



'•%, 



^^Si^l^^M^^^ 



'^Mm4^ •/ 




yond, the usual stop was made, and the wires cut. An 
attempt was made to tear up the track by some of the 
men, while others loaded the box cars with railroad ties. 
While engaged in this work, the men heard the scream- 
ing whistle of a locomotive in full pursuit. They were 
more than amazed : they were paralyzed. If a pursu- 



289 

ing locomotive had sprung out of the ground at their 
feet with a full head of steam on, they could not have 
been more astonished. They had just passed three 
freight trains headed in the opposite direction, and now 
here was a pursuing locomotive coming after them at 
full speed, and with a full head of steam on. Making 
one spasmodic effort, they broke the rail they were try- 
ing to tear up. 

Reaching Adairsville, Andrews and his men found 
that the passenger train had not arrived. But it was 
no time for waiting. They resolved to take every 
chance. The engineer had orders to send the locomo- 
tive along at full speed. He was very willing to do 
this. Calhoun was nine miles away, and if that station 
could be reached before the passenger train left, all 
would be well ; if not, there was danger of a collision. 
But Andrews took all the chances. The throttle of the 
locomotive was pulled wide open, and the train started 
so suddenly and so swiftly that the men in the box cars 
were thrown from their feet. The distance to Calhoun 
was nine miles, and the train bearing Andrews and his 
men made it in seven minutes and a half, — pretty 
swift traveling, when it is remembered that the track 
was full of short curves, and not in the best condition. 

As the locomotive neared Calhoun, Engineer Knight 
gave several loud blasts on the whistle ; and it was well 
he did so, for the passenger train had just begun to pull 
out of Calhoun on its way to Adairsville. If the whistle 
had been blown a moment later than it was, the passen- 
ger train would have been under full headway, and the 
signal would not have bccii heard ; but the passenger 
sro. OF CA. — 19 



290 

train had just begun to move, and was going slowly. 
The whistle was heard, and the engineer backed his 
train to Calhoun again. But when Andrews and his 
men arrived, they found a new difficulty in the way. 
The passenger train was such a long one that the rear 
end blocked the track. Andrews tried to get the con- 
ductor to move on to Adairsville and there meet the 
upbound passenger train ; but that official was too badly 
scared by the danger he had just escaped to take any 
more chances, and he refused to budge until the other 
train should arrive. This would be fatal to the plans of 
Andrews, and that bold adventurer made up his mind 
that the time had come for force to be used. The con- 
ductor was finally persuaded to allow Andrews to go 
ahead with his powder train. He ran a little more than 
a mile beyond Calhoun, stopped his train, ordered the 
wire cut and another rail torn up. While they were 
busily engaged in this work, they were both amazed 
and alarmed to see a locomotive approaching from the 
direction of Calhoun. They had only bent the rail, and 
were compelled to leave it and get out of the way of 
their pursuers. 

Andrews and his men were bold and intrepid, even 
reckless ; but the men who were pursuing them had all 
these qualities, and some others besides. They had an 
energy and a determination that nothing could stand in 
the way of. 

We have seen how Superintendent Murphy, Conduc- 
tor W. A. Fuller, and Engineer Jeff. Cain leaped from 
the breakfast table at Big Shanty, and went running 
after the flying locomotive, followed by the laughter 



29 T 

and jeers of the thousands of loitering soldiers who 
enjoyed the spectacle ; but Murphy and Fuller had hit 
upon a plan of pursuit the moment they saw that their 
locomotive had been captured, and the plan formed in 
the mind of each was the same: consequently they had 
no need to stop and discuss the matter. They ran 
along the track a considerable distance until they came 
to a hand car such as the track hands use. With this 
they made tolerable speed ; but suddenly, while they 
were poling along at a great rate, the car tumbled from 
the track. They had now come to the place where the 
raiders had torn up the first rail. The pursuers were 
not hurt by the fall. They jumped to their feet, pushed 
the car over the obstruction, and were soon on their 
way again, going even more rapidly than before. In 
this way Murphy and Fuller came to Etowah station, 
where they found a superannuated locomotive engaged 
in hauling wood. To this rickety old machine they 
attached a flat car loaded with soldiers, and made their 
way to Kingston. As Andrews and his men had been 
delayed at Kingston for more than an hour, waiting for 
the three freight trains to pass. Murphy and Fuller 
reached Kingston only ten minutes after the raiders 
had left. Here one of the best locomotives on the road 
was pressed into service, and the pursuit continued. 
It was at this time that Andrews and his men were 
engaged in tearing up the track beyond Kingston, and 
where they were so much amazed to hear the whistle of 
the pursuing locomotive. Murphy and Fuller, who were 
on the watch for breaks in the road, saw the lifted rail in 
time to a\'oid trouble. They left their locomotive, with 



292 

'.he flat car and soldiers, standing on the track, and 
again set out on foot in pursuit of the stolen locomotive. 
After running and walking hard for two miles, they 
met a freight train which had left Adairsville coming 
south just as Andrews and his men had left that station 
going north. They flagged the train down, reversed it, 
and ran it back into Adairsville. 

Andrews and his men had left Adairsville not Ions: 
before, in spite of the fact that a passenger train going 
south was overdue there. Murphy and Fuller did not 
hesitate an instant. They got together a force of track- 
men and soldiers, and, without telling them of the dan- 
gers ahead, went rushing to Calhoun. Andrews, as 
has been seen, had caused the overdue passenger train 
to remain at Calhoun, and had finally induced the con- 
ductor to let the " powder train " pass. Beyond Cal- 
houn he stopped to cut the wire and tear up another 
rail, and had actually pried it above the stringers and 
bent it, when they heard the pursuing locomotive, and 
then saw it rounding a curve some distance away. 
Murphy and Fuller saw the bent rail, but, being deter- 
mined to take all the chances, drove their engine over 
it under a full head of steam. The rail settled back in 
its place, and the pursuing train went over safely. 

From this point the chase was the most thrilling and 
reckless of any of which we have record. In order to 
delay pursuit, Andrews and his men began to drop on 
the track behind them the cross-ties they had intended 
to use to burn the bridges. Fuller seated himself on 
the cowcatcher, and when a cross-tie was found to be 
in a dangerous position, the locomotive would slow up. 



293 

and he would run forward and remove the tie. Seeing 
that this would not do, Andrews uncoupled one of his 
box cars and left it on the track. Murphy and Fuller 
pushed it to a siding, and there left it. A second car 
was dropped, and this was disposed of in the same way. 
The fugitives failed to gain on their pursuers. The 
chase went on until Andrews found his supply of fuel 
running short. He ran his locomotive to a wood rack ; 
but before the tender was half full, Murphy and Fuller 
came in sight ; and while they were removing an ob- 
stacle that had been placed on the track, the soldiers 
they had brought with them opened such a hot fire on 
Andrews and his men, that they had to take refuge in 
the box car. The raiders then, without having secured 
as much w^ood as they wanted, continued their flight. 

The chase now became more interesting than ever. 
The people standing near the stations in towns and vil- 
lages knew not what to make of the scene. Before they 
could recover from the surprise of seeing a locomotive 
with one box car dashing madly over the switches, they 
would be struck dumb with amazement at seeing an- 
other train come thundering along, carrying a flat car 
full of excited soldiers. Although all the odds were 
now against Andrews, he was still intent on doing what 
he set out to do. If he could burn the first Chicka- 
mauga bridge, he would be safe. He would then have 
ample leisure to burn the whole series of bridges, and 
go on to Chattanooga without further trouble. Bent on 
this, he ordered his men to throw a good part of the 
fuel on the track; and while the pursuers were remov- 
ing this, the raiders made an effort to tear up a rail. 



294 

To make the matter more certain, they selected one of 
the many curves not far from the Chickamauga River. 
They had hardly got under way again, when they saw 
the smokestack of the pursuing locomotive. They 
watched to see it pause or be dashed to pieces, but 
instead of that it went around the curve that had been 
derailed as swiftly and as smoothly as if the track had 
been newly laid and well ballasted. This seemed to be 
in the nature of a miracle to Andrews and his men, and 
the mystery was not explained to the survivors for years 
afterwards; then Mr. Antony Murphy showed that 
the rail had been removed from the inside of the curve. 
If it had been removed from the outside, nothing would 
have prevented the destruction of the pursuers. 

Andrews, fertile as he was in expedients, had now 
come to his last one. He ordered the box car to be set 
on fire. To carry this out, nearly all the fuel in the 
tender was piled up in the car. Soon the car was in a 
blaze, and the locomotive hauled it swiftly along. A 
volume of roaring flames streamed far behind. Soon 
the first bridge over the Chickamauga w^as reached. It 
was a covered bridge. A full stop was made by 
Andrews, the blazing car uncoupled, and more fuel 
piled on the flames. A heavy rain had come up, and 
it was falling in torrents at that moment : consequently 
the flames were not easily communicated to the struc- 
ture of the bridge. 

The emergency that the pursuers had to meet was 
a serious one, but Murphy and Fuller were quite 
equal to it. Antony Murphy was running the locomo- 
tive ; and he hesitated not a moment, but went thunder- 



295 



ing into the covered bridge, and pushed the flaming 
car from it. Once off the bridge, where the rain could 
get at it, the blazing car was no longer dangerous. It 
was rolled out of the way ; and by this time Andrews 
and his men were out of sight again, but not for long. 
The pursuing locomotive soon began to overtake the 
fleeing raiders. Andrews had well- 
nigh exhausted all his fuel, and the 
steam in the boiler of his loco- 
motive began to get low. 
There was now but one 
thing to do, and that was 
to abandon it. So, while 
it was still going 
at a good rate of 
speed, Andrews - ^ 

gave the word and 
set the example ; 
and he and his 
daring band tum- 
bled from the loco- 
motive as best they 'i' ^^' 
could, and fled through the 
woods in all directions. All 

were finally caught and put in prison in Chattanooga. 
The raid had given the people and the military 
authorities such a scare, that Andrews and seven of the 
men were tried and hanged. Six made their escape, 
and never were recaptured, and six were regularly 
exchanged. The hanging of Andrews and his seven 
companions is to be regretted. They were brave 




296 

enough to deserve a better fate. They were engaged 
in the boldest adventure of the war, and one of the best 
planned. It was only by the merest chance that they 
had two such men as Murphy and Fuller to oppose 
them. Either of these men was fully the equal of 
Andrews in intelligence, boldness, and energy, and that 
is saying a great deal. They took chances and ran 
risks, in pursuing Andrews and his men, that won 
the enthusiastic admiration of those brave and reckless 
raiders. If the daring project had succeeded, the Fed- 
erals would have been able to strike a severe blow at 
the Confederacy's main source of war supplies much 
earlier than they were afterwards able to do. 



THE RECONSTRUCTION PERIOD. 

THE people of the State had not recovered from the 
chaos and confusion into which they had been 
thrown by Sherman's march to the sea, when the news 
came that Lee had surrendered in Virginia, and Gen- 
eral Joseph E. Johnston (who had been restored to his 
command) in North Carolina. Thus a sudden and vio- 
lent end had been put to all hopes of establishing a 
separate government. General Sherman, who was as 
relentless in war as he was pacific and gentle when the 
war was over, had, in coming to terms with General 
Johnston, advanced the theory that the South never 
had dissolved the Union, and that the States were 
restored to their old places the moment they laid down 
their arms. This theory was not only consistent with 
the views of the Union men of the North, but with the 
nature and character of the Republic itself. But in the 
short and common-sense cut that Sherman had made to 
a solution, he left the politicians out in the cold, and 
they cried out against it as a hideous and ruthless piece 
of assumption on the part of a military man to attempt 
to have any opinions after the war was over. Any set- 
tlement that left the politicians out in the cold was not 
to be tolerated. Some of these gentlemen had a very 
big and black crow to pick with the South. Some of 

297 



29cS 

them, in the course of the long debate over slavery, 
had had their feelings hurt by Southern men ; and 
although these wrangles had been purely personal and 
individual, the politicians felt that the whole South 
ought to be humiliated still further. 

The politicians would have been entirely harmless if 
the life of President Lincoln had been spared During 
the war, Mr. Lincoln was greatly misunderstood even 
at the North ; but it is now the general verdict of his- 
tory, that, take him for all in all, he was beyond all 
comparison the greatest man of his time, the one man 
who, above all others, was best fitted to bring the 
people of the two sections together again, and to make 
the Union a more perfect Union than ever before. But 
unfortunately Mr. Lincoln fell by the hands of an assas- 
sin, and never had an opportunity to carry out the 
great policy of pacification which could only have been 
sustained at that time by his great influence, by his 
patience, that was supreme, and by his wisdom, that has 
proved to be almost infallible in working out the salva- 
tion of the Union. After Lee's surrender, the interests 
of the South could have sustained no severer blow than 
the death of Lincoln. His successor, Andrew Johnson, 
was a well-meaning man, but a very narrow-minded one 
in some respects, and a very weak one in others. It is 
but justice to him to say that he did his best to carry 
out Lincoln's policy of pacification, and his failure was 
no greater than that of any other leading politician of 
his time would have been. 

It would be impossible to describe the condition of 
the people at this time. There was no civil law in 



299 

operation, and the military government that had been 
established was not far-reaching enough to restrain vio- 
lence of any sort. The negroes had been set free, and 
were supported by means of a " freedmen's bureau." 
They were free, and yet they wanted some practical 
evidence of it. To obtain this, they left the plantations 
on which they had been born, and went tramping about 
the country in the most restless and uneasy manner. 




A great many of them believed that freedom meant 
idleness, such as they had seen white folks indulge in. 
The country negroes flocked to the towns and cities in 
great numbers, and the freedmen's bureau, active as its 
agents were, had a great deal more than it could attend 
to. Such peace and order as existed was not miiin- 
tained by any authority, but grew naturally out of the 
awe that had come over both whites and blacks at find- 
ins: their condition and their relations so chancred. The 



300 

whites could hardly believe that slavery no longer ex- 
isted. The negroes had grave doubts as to whether 
they were really free. To make matters worse, a great 
many small politicians, under pretense of protecting the 
negroes, but really to secure their votes, began a cru- 
sade against the South in Congress, the like of which 
can hardly be found paralleled outside of our own his- 
tory. The people of the South found out long ago 
that the politicians of the hour did not represent the 
intentions and desires of the people of the North ; and 
there is much comfort and consolation to be got out of 
that fact, even at this late day. But at that time the 
bitterest dose of reconstruction was the belief that the 
best opinion of the North sustained the ruinous policy 
that had been put in operation. 

The leading men of the State were all disfranchised, 
— deprived of the privilege of voting, a privilege that 
was freely conferred on the negroes. A newspaper 
editor in Macon was imprisoned, and his paper sup- 
pressed, for declaring, in regard to taking the amnesty 
oath, that he had to "fortify himself for the occasion 
with a good deal of Dutch courage." The wife of 
General Toombs was ordered by an assistant commis- 
sioner of the freedmen's bureau to vacate her home 
with only two weeks' provisions, the grounds of the 
order being that the premises were *' abandoned prop- 
erty," and, as such, were to be seized, and applied to 
the uses of the freedmen's bureau. The superior offi- 
cer of this assistant commissioner, being a humane and 
kindly man, revoked the order. 

These were the days when the carpet-bagger and 



30I 

the scalawag flourished, —the camp followers of the 
Northern army, who wanted money and office ; and the 
native-born Southerner, who wanted office and money. 
There is no doubt that the indignities heaped on the 
people led to acts of retaliation that nothing else could 
excuse; but they were driven to desperation. It 
seemed, in that hour, that their liberties had been 
entirely withdrawn. Governor Brown, who had for- 
merly been so popular, was denounced because he 
advised Georgians to accept the situation. He, with 
other wise men, thought it was a waste of time and 
opportunity to discuss constitutional questions at a mo- 
ment when the people were living under bayonet rule. 
Joe Brown's plan was to accept the situation, and then 
get rid of it as quickly as possible. Ben Hill's plan 
was to fight it to the last. There was a fierce con- 
troversy between these two leaders; and such strong 
expressions were used on both sides, that General Pope 
made them the subject of a curious letter to his com- 
mander in chief. General Grant. 

General Pope seemed to be afraid that war was 
about to break out again, and he assumed charge of 
everything. He removed and appointed mayors of 
cities, solicitors, and sheriffs. He closed the State 
University because a student made a speech which 
was in effect a defense of civil law. After a while 
the general said he would reopen the institution if 
the press of the State would say nothing about the 
affair. In 1867, General Pope ordered an election to 
be held for delegates to a State convention. .The polls 
were kept open five days, and voters were allowed to 



302 

vote in any precinct in any county upon their making 
oath that they were entitled to vote. The convention 
met, but, in the nature of things, could not be a repre- 
sentative body. Thousands of the best and most rep- 
resentative men of the State were not allowed to vote, 
and thousands of other good men refused to take part 
in an election held under the order of a military com- 
mander : consequently, when the convention met, its 
membership was made up of the political rag-tag-and- 
bobtail of that day. There were a few good men in 
the body, but they had little influence over the igno- 
rant negroes and vicious whites who had taken advan- 
tage of their first and last opportunity to hold office. 

The authority of this convention was not recognized 
by the State government, and this contest gave rise to a 
fresh conflict between the State officials and the mili- 
tary dictators who had been placed over them. The 
convention needed money to pay its expenses, and 
passed an ordinance directing the treasurer of the State 
to pay forty thousand dollars for this purpose to the 
disbursing officer of the convention. General Pope 
issued an order to the treasurer to pay this amount. 
The treasurer declined to pay out the money, for the 
simple reason that he was forbidden by law to pay out 
money except on an order or warrant drawn by the gov- 
ernor, and sanctioned by the comptroller general. 

About this time General Meade was appointed to rule 
in Georgia in place of General Pope, and he found this 
matter unsettled when he took charge. So he wrote to 
Governor Jenkins, and requested him to draw his war- 
rant on the treasury for forty thousand dollars. The 



303 

governor could find no authority in law for paying 
over this sum, and he therefore refused. But civil gov- 
ernment was not of much importance to the military at 
that time ; so, when he had received the governor's 
letter, General Meade drew a sheet of paper before him, 
called for pen and ink, and issued " General Order No. 
8," in which the announcement is made that ''the fol- 
lowing-named officers are detailed for duty in the dis- 
trict of Georgia : Brevet Brigadier General Thomas H. 
Ruger, Colonel 33d Infantry, to be Governor of the State 
of Georgia ; Brevet Captain Charles F. Rockwell, Ord- 
nance Corps U. S. Army, to be Treasurer of the State 
of Georgia.'' 

In this way the rag-tag-and-bobtail convention got its 
money, but it got also the hatred and contempt of the 
people; and the Republican party, — the party that 
had been molded and made by the wise policy of Lin- 
coln, — by indorsing these foolish measures of recon- 
struction, and putting its influence behind the outrages 
that were committed in the name of "loyalty," aroused 
prejudices in the minds of the Southern people that 
have not died away to this day. Some of the more 
vicious of the politicians of that epoch organized what 
was known as ''The Union League." It was a secret 
political society, and had branches in every county of 
the State. Through the medium of this secret organiza- 
tion, the basest deception was practiced on the ignorant 
negroes. They were solemnly told that their old mas- 
ters were making arrangements to reenslave them, and 
all sorts of incendiary suggestions were made to them. 
It was by means of this secret society that the negroes 



304 



were made to believe that they would be entitled to 
forty acres and a mule for voting for the candidates of 
the carpet-baggers. 

The effect of all this was to keep the blacks in a con- 
stant state of turmoil. They were too uneasy to settle 

down to work, and too sus- 
"i: -. ^ picious to enter into con- 

^"^^^^^.^^^^^^ tracts with the wliites : so 

they went wandering 
about the State from 
town to town and from 
county to county, com- 
mitting all sorts of 
crimes. As the civil 
system had been en- 
tirely overthrown by 
the military, there 
was neither law nor 
order ; and this con- 
dition was very seriously 
aggravated by the incen- 
diary teachings of The Union 
League. The people, therefore, 
in some parts of the South, offset this secret 
'' society with another, which was called the *' Ku 
Klux Klan." This organization was intended to pre- 
vent violence and to restore order in communities ; but 
the spirit of it was very frequently violated by lawless 
persons, who, acting in the name of the '* Klan," sub- 
jected defenseless negroes to cruel treatment. 

There is no darker period in the history of the State 




305 

than that of reconstruction. The tax payers were 
robbed in the most reckless way, and the rights of 
citizens were entirely disregarded. Even when the 
Republican Congress, responsive to the voice of con- 
servative Northern opinion, turned its back on the 
carpet-bag government of Georgia, these men made a 
tremendous effort to extend their rule unlawfully. The 
carpet-bag Legislature was in session three hundred and 
twenty-eight days, and cost the State nearly one million 
dollars; whereas the cost of legislation from 1853 to 
1862, nine years, was not nine hundred thousand dol- 
lars. In one year the State Road took in a million 
dollars and a half ; and of this immense sum, only 
forty-five thousand dollars was paid into the treasury. 
Added to this, the road had been run into debt to the 
amount of six hundred thousand dollars, and it had 
been run down to such an extent that five hundred 
thousand was needed to place it in good condition. 

During this trying period, Joseph E. Brown, who had 
been so popular with the people, was under a cloud. 
He had advised accepting the reconstruction measures 
in the first instance, so that they might be carried out 
by men who had the confidence and the esteem of the 
State ; but this wise proposition brought upon his head 
only reproaches and abuse. The public mind was in 
such a state of frenzied uneasiness, the result of carpet- 
bag robbery and recklessness, that the people would 
listen to no remedy except passionate defiance and 
denunciation. When the name of Brown was men- 
tioned only as a handle of abuse, Benjamin H. Hill 
became the leader and the idol of the people. When, 

SIX), OF (JA. — 20 



3o6 

in 1870, Hill issued an address declaring that the recon- 
struction must be accepted by the people, he was at 
once made the object of the most violent attacks. But 
Brown was right in 1864, and Hill was right in 1870, 
and the people were wrong. They paid dearly for 
their blindness in the wrongs imposed on them by men 
who were neither Republicans nor reconstructionists at 
heart, but public plunderers. 

In 1 87 1 the carpet-bag government began to totter. 
The governor left the State, and staid away so long 
that the State treasurer, a man of stern integrity, re- 
fused to pay warrants that were not signed by a resi- 
dent governor. Finally the governor returned, but 
almost immediately resigned. In a short time the real 
representatives of the people took charge of affairs, and 
since that time the State has been in a highly pros- 
perous condition. 



*'THE NEW SOUTH." 

WHEN the people of Georgia had once more 
gained control of their State government, the 
political tempest that had been raging slowly quieted 
down. A pot that has been boiling furiously doesn't 
grow cool in a moment, but it ceases almost instantly 
to boil ; and though it may cool slowly, it cools surely. 
There was not an end of prejudice and unreason the 
moment the people had disposed of those who were 
plundering them, but prejudice began to lose its force 
as soon as men had the opportunity to engage in calm 
discussion, and to look forward hopefully to the future. 
In the midst of bayonet and carpet-bag rule, the State 
could not make any real progress. It is only during 
a time of peace and contentment that the industrial 
forces of a community begin to display their real 
energy. 

No State in the South had suffered so severely as 
Georgia during the war. She placed in the field more 
than a hundred and twenty thousand soldiers, — twenty 
thousand more than her voting population at the be- 
ginning of the war. The taxable wealth of the State 
in 1867 was more than four hundred and eighty-one 
millions less than it was in i(S6i, — a loss of more than 
three fourths. After the reconstruction period, all the 

307 ^ 



3o8 

State had to show, in return for the treasure that had 
been squandered by the carpet-bag pohticians, was a 
few poorly equipped railroads that had been built on 
the State's credit. In some instances railroad bonds 
were indorsed when there was no road to show for 
them ; in others, bonds were issued in behalf of the 
same road under different names ; so that the people 
lost by fraud as much or more than the amount of im- 
provement that had been made. The " developers " 
who had connected themselves with the bayonet admin- 
istration were much more interested in ''developing" 
their own private interests than they were in develop- 
ing the resources of the State. 

But when the bayonet administration had been driven 
out, not less by Northern opinion, which had become 
disgusted with the reckless dishonesty that was practiced 
under the name of republicanism, than by the energetic 
opposition of all good citizens of the State, there came 
a welcome end to the bitter controversy that had been 
going on. The fierce rancor and prejudice that had 
been aroused gradually died out; so that in 1872, shortly 
after the State had been rescued from misrule, Horace 
Greeley, the great abolition editor, received in Georgia 
a majority of more than seventy-one thousand votes 
over the straight-out Democratic candidate. This, more 
than any other event, showed the improving temper of 
the people, and their willingness to make compromises 
and concessions for the purpose of restoring the Union 
and burying the spirit of sectionalism. 

With this improved temper there came an improve- 
ment in the material conditions of the State. Free 



309 

negro labor was a problem which the planters had to 
meet. For a time it presented many difficulties. It was 
hard to make and enforce contracts with the negroes, 
who had been demoralized and made suspicious by The 
Union League and by the harsh and unjustifiable acts 
of men who acted under the name, but not under the 
authority, of the Ku Klux Klan. But gradually all these 
difficulties were overcome. The negroes settled down 
to work, and with them a good many white men who 
had been left adrift by the fortunes of war and the pros- 
tration of industries. This vast change was not brought 
about in a day or a month, or even in a year, but was 
the gradual outgrowth of a bitter feeling, — the slow 
awakening to the fact that matters were not as bad on 
a better acquaintance as they had seemed. There was, 
of course, the negro problem ; but the wiser men soon 
saw that this problem, such as it was, would settle itself 
sooner or later. The result was that everybody began 
to take a day off from politics occasionally, and devote 
themselves to the upbuilding of the resources of the 
State. 

At first, and for several years, the negro problem 
seemed to be a very serious matter indeed. All the 
statesmen, all the politicians, all the historians, and all 
the newspaper editors, discussed it morning, noon, and 
night for a long time. Some wanted it settled one way, 
and some another. At the North the men who had 
indorsed and approved the bayonet governments of the 
South thought that laws ought to be passed giving the 
negroes social equality with the whites. Finally a com- 
promise was made with what is called the ** Civil Rights 



3IO 

Law," which was intended to give the negroes the same 
privileges at the hotels, theaters, and other public places, 
that the whites had. The Northern politicians pre- 
tended to believe that the efforts they were making 
were for the benefit of the negroes, though no doubt 
the majority of them knew better. Of course, the 
Southern people resisted the pressure thus brought to 
bear by the Northern sectionalists, and the result was 
what might have been expected. The condition of the 
negro was made more uncomfortable than ever, and the 
color line was more closely drawn. To show how short- 
sighted the politicians were and are, it is only necessary 
to call attention to one fact, and it is this : that while 
the Civil Rights Law has kept negroes out of public 
places both North and South, they ride on the street 
cars side by side with the white people, and it frequently 
happens that an old negro woman who comes into a 
crowded car is given a seat by some Southerner who 
has tender recollections of his negro "mammy." 

It is worthy of note, that while the politicians on both 
sides were fighting the shadows that the "negro prob- 
lem " called up, the problem was solving itself in the 
only way that such vast problems can be settled in the 
order of Providence, — by the irresistible elements of 
time and experience. A great deal of misery, suffering, 
and discontent would have been spared to both races, 
if, after the war, the conservative men of the North had 
either insisted on the policy that Abraham Lincoln had 
mapped out, or had said to the pestiferous politicians 
who were responsible for carpet-bag rule, "Plands off!" 
No doubt some injustice would have been done to indi- 



1 1 



viduals if the North had permitted the negroes to work 
out their political salvation alone, but the race itself 
would be in a better condition every way than it is to- 
day; for outside interference has worked untold dam- 




age and hardship to the negro. It has given him false 
ideas of the power and ])urpose of government, and it 
has blinded his. eyes to the necessity of individual effort. 
It is by individual effort alone that the negro race must 
work out its destiny. This is tiie history of the white 



312 

I race, and it must be the history of all races that move 

j forward. 

When Georgia, with the rest of the Southern States, 
had passed safely through the reconstruction period, the 
people, as has been seen, found themselves facing new 
conditions and new possibilities. Slavery had been abol- 
ished utterly and forever ; and wise men breathed freer 
when they saw that a great obstacle to progress and 
development had been abolished with it. Instinctively 
everybody felt that here was cause for congratulation. 
A few public men, bolder than the rest, looking out on 
the prospect, thanked God that slavery was no more. 
They expected to be attacked for such utterances, but 
they were applauded ; and it was soon discovered, much 
to the surprise of everybody, that the best sentiment of 
the South was heartily glad that slavery was out of the 
way. Thus, with new conditions, new prospects, and 
new hopes, — with a new fortune, in fact, — it was nat- 
ural that some lively prophet should lift up his voice and 
cry, ''Behold the New South! " 

And it was and is the new South, — the old South 
made new by events ; the old South with new channels, 
in which its Anglo-Saxon energies may display them- 
selves; the old South with new possibilities of greatness, 
that would never have offered themselves while slavery 
lasted. After these hopes, and in pursuit of these pros- 
pects, Georgia has led the way. Hundreds of miles of 
new railroads have been built in her borders since the 
dark days of reconstruction, hundreds of new factories 
have been built, immense marble beds and granite 
quarries have been put in operation, new towns have 



313 

sprung into existence, and in thousands of new direc- 
tions employment has been given to labor and capital. 
In short, the industrial progress the State has made 
since 1870 is more than double that of the previous fifty 
years. 

It was natural, that, out of the new conditions, new 
men should arise ; and, as if in response to the needs of 
the hour and the demands of the people, there arose a 
man who, with no selfish ends to serve and no selfish 
ambition to satisfy, was able to touch the hearts of the 
people of both sections, and to subdue the spirit of sec- 
tionalism that was still rampant long after the carpet- 
bag governments in the South had been overthrown by 
the force of public opinion. That man was Henry 
Woodfin Grady. He took up his public work in earnest 
in 1876, though he had been preparing for it since the 
day that he could read a school history. In that year 
he became one of the editors of the " Atlanta Constitu- 
tion," and at once turned his attention to the situation 
in which his State had been left by the war, and by the 
rapacity of those who had come into power by means of 
the bayonet. Whether he used his tongue or pen, the 
public soon found out that he had control of that mys- 
terious power which moves men. Whether he wrote or 
whether he spoke, he had the gift and the inspiration 
of eloquence ; and from first to last he could never be 
induced to use this great gift for his personal advance- 
ment, nor could he be induced to accept a political 
office. With a mind entirely sincere and unselfish, he 
addressed himself to tlie work of restoring unity between 
the North and South, and to i)utting an end to the sec- 



314 

tional strife which the poHticians were skillfully using 
to further their own schemes. He was asked to be a 
United States senator, and refused ; he was asked to be 
a congressman, and refused. For the rest, he could 
have had any office within the gift of the people of 
Georgia ; but he felt that he could serve the State and 
the South more perfectly in the way that he had him- 
self mapped out. He felt that the time had come for 
some one to say a bold and manly w^ord in behalf of 
the American Union in the ear of the South, and to say 
a bold and manly word in behalf of the South in the ear 
of the North. He began this work, and carried it on as 
a private citizen ; and the result was, that, though he 
died before he had reached the prime of his life, he had 
won a name and a popularity in all parts of the country, 
both North and South, that no other private citizen had 
ever before succeeded in winning. 

It was Henry Grady that gave the apt name of " The 
New South" to the spirit that his tireless energy and 
enthusiasm had called from the dark depths of recon- 
struction. Of this spirit, and the movement that sprang 
from it, he was the prophet, the pioneer, the promoter. 
He saw the South poor in the midst of the most abun- 
dant resources that Providence ever blessed a people 
with, and he turned aside from politics to point them 
out. He saw the people going about in deep despair, 
and he gave them the cue of hope, and touched them 
with his own enthusiasm. He saw the mighty indus- 
trial forces lying dormant, and his touch awoke them to 
life. He saw great enterprises languishing, and he 
called the attention of capital to them. Looking far- 



315 



ther afield, he saw the people of two great sections for- 
getting patriotism and duty, and reviving the prejudices 
and issues that had led to the war, and that had con- 
tinued throughout the war ; and he went about among 
them, speaking words of peace and union,— appealing 
to the spirit of patriotism which held the Northern and 
Southern people together when they were building the 
Republic, when they stood side by side amid the suffer- 
ings of Valley Forge, and when they saw the army of a 
mighty monarch surrender to the valor of American 
soldiers at Yorktown. With the enthusiasm of a mis- 
sionary and the impetuous zeal of an evangelist, he went 
about rebuking the politicians, and preaching in behalf 
of peace, union, and genuine patriotism. 

Such was the mission of Henry W. Grady, and the 
work that he did will live after him. " The New South " 
will cease to be new, but the people will never cease to 
owe him a debt of gratitude for the work that he did in 
urging forward the industrial progress of this region, 
and in making peace between the sections. He was 
the builder, the peacemaker. 



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